Systematic review of the efficacy of statins for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease
Open accessAbstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common type of dementia. Recent studies have assessed the possibility of using statins as treatment for AD. However, their efficacy is not clear. In this study, we collected the most relevant information about the efficacy of statins for the treatment of AD. We conducted a systematic literature search using MEDLINE, EMBASE and The Cochrane Library. We included clinical trials, meta-analyses and systematic reviews that analysed the efficacy of statins in AD. We also extracted the characteristics and efficacy results of the studies selected. Of the 304 articles identified, 13 complied with the inclusion criteria. The scientific quality of studies was high and their results indicated that there were no significant differences in the main efficacy variables between statins and placebo treatment for AD. Therefore, according to the available scientific evidence, statins have not shown an improvement in cognition and do not appear to offer significant benefits to patients with AD.
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Lowering cholesterol in APOE4 carriers may decrease the risk of dementia.
“As lowering cholesterol in APOE4 carriers may decrease the risk of dementia based on other published literature [27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32]”
From Blood PCSK9 Impacts Alzheimer's Disease Risk in an <i>APOE</i> Genotype‐Dependent Manner: A Prospective Cohort Study (2026) · cites this paper as [31]
The Introduction (page not available) reports that statin-treated patients had a lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and links APOE4 to higher LDL cholesterol. The discussion of the Sparks trial (section labeled “11/11 High,” page not available) suggests APOE4 carriers with existing Alzheimer’s disease may benefit from statins, but it does not establish that lowering cholesterol reduces their risk of developing dementia. (LLM, conf=0.86)
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- Authors
- Mejías-Trueba, M., Pérez-Moreno, M. A., & Fernández-Arche, M. Á.
- Affiliations
- Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío (ES)
- Venue
- Clinical Medicine
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2018-02
- Volume
- 18
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 54-61
- ISSN
- 1470-2118 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC6330926
- OpenAlex
- W2785728493
- Cited by
- 31
- References
- 33
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 2 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 1
- FWCI
- 0.49
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Clinical Medicine (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- RISalud Institutional Health Repository of Andalucía (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Deposito de Investigacion Universidad de Sevilla (University of Seville) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Funders
- Universidad de Sevilla
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Cholinesterase and Neurodegenerative Diseases
- Keywords
- statins, Alzheimer's disease, dementia, treatment efficacy, cognitive function, placebo comparison, cholesterol-lowering drugs
- MeSH terms
- Alzheimer Disease, Cognition, Humans, Treatment Outcome, Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors
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