Expert: Mary Gordon - 12/1/2010

Question
Is there a remote link between side affects of Statin drugs to acute onset of Alzheimer's Disease wihin a few months?

Answer
Hi Corra,

The current evidence suggests that statin drugs actually reduce a person's odds of developing dementia from 30-50%. There have been a number of studies with similar findings, and a couple that found no effect. At present, the jury is still out - the roots of progressive dementia can be really complex and hard to study.
Here are some typical study results
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/127532.php
http://brainposts.blogspot.com/2010/06/can-statin-drugs-prevent-alzheimers.html

A person with acute onset dementia that is rapidly progressing may not have Alzheimer's disease, but may have some other cause of cognitive impairment. Alzheimers tends to develop perniciously and slowly over many years. Quite often, when a person is finally diagnosed (often when the symptoms become very noticable and the person begings to struggle with activityies of daily living), the family can look back at the previous couple of years and recall signs of something amiss - signs and symptoms or events that seemed a bit odd at the time, but were dismissed by everyone as being silly or explanable by stress, age, illness, distraction etc. Later the family might recognize those patterns as early symptoms of dementia brewing. This was certainly true in my family. My mother in law was certainly more and more foggy over a period of a couple of years, but most of the incidents were so minor we didn't think too much of it - until problems became more and more frequent and alarming.

There are a number of illnesses that cause dementia - Alzheimer's is just one. Sudden onset and rapid progress of impairment is more likely to be caused by other causes of dementia, such as mini-strokes (called multi-infarct dementia).

If you think any part of what has happened is related to medication side effects including statins, it should be discussed with the doctor. The person can always take a holiday from a medication with supervision from the doctor and see if they improve. Having said that, it would seem unlikely to me that statin side effects are the real story with the person you are seeing problems with.

I would very strongly urge you to get the person properly assessed and evaluated by a neurologist or geriatrician with a dementia specialty. Many causes of dementia can be treated or slowed down, and it's very important to get an accurate diagnosis. If you know what you are dealing with, you will know what to expect will come next so you can make good plans, and also will know what, if anything can be done to help the person. I would not rely on a family doctor for this one. The brain is a very sensitive and complex organ and the person really needs examination by a real expert to make sure they are fully checked out for all possible causes of cognitive impairment.  

Here is some general info on the range of causes.
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/dementia_overview/page2_em.htm

Hope this helps.

Mary