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Statins — a cure-all for the brain?

Nature Reviews Neuroscience volume 6, pages 325–331 (2005)Cite this article

Abstract

'Statins' are 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors — oral cholesterol-lowering drugs that are used to treat hypercholesterolaemia. It is widely accepted that statins have anti-inflammatory effects that are independent of their ability to lower cholesterol. Animal studies and observational clinical studies have indicated that statins might also be effective in treating certain neurological diseases — in particular, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease and ischaemic stroke. At present, however, results from ongoing prospective, randomized clinical trials are not available.

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Figure 1: The mevalonate cycle and statin interactions.
Figure 2: Proposed effects of statins in multiple sclerosis/experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.
Figure 3: Proposed effects of statins in Alzheimer's disease.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. the Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, 505 Parnassus Avenue, Box 0114, San Francisco, 94143-0114, California, USA

    Til Menge

  2. the Department of Neurology, Heinrich Heine University, Moorenstrasse 5, Düsseldorf, 40225, Germany

    Hans-Peter Hartung

  3. the Department of Neurology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, 75390, Texas, USA

    Olaf Stüve

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  1. Til Menge
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  2. Hans-Peter Hartung
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Correspondence to Hans-Peter Hartung.

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Menge, T., Hartung, HP. & Stüve, O. Statins — a cure-all for the brain?. Nat Rev Neurosci 6, 325–331 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn1652

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