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Sigalon - The Swedish FrogJuly 24, 2007 — Research links simvastatin to a reduction in the incidence of both dementia and Parkinson's disease (PD) of greater than 50%.
In contrast, atorvastatin is associated with a modest, but insignificant, reduction in the incidence of the 2 diseases, and lovastatin has no impact on incidence.
"This study suggests brain penetrant statins are more effective at preventing neurodegenerative disease than impenetrant statins," principal investigator Benjamin Wolozin, MD, from Boston University School of Medicine in Massachusetts, told Medscape.
"There are many statins out there. Some are very effective for preventing cardiovascular disease but not all of them cross the blood-brain barrier equally and, therefore, may not have the same impact on neurodegenerative disease.
"Simvastatin crosses into the brain very effectively, whereas atorvastatin just doesn't achieve as high a level [in the brain]. Lovastatin crosses the blood-brain barrier nicely but it is a first generation statin and therefore is just not as potent as some of the newer agents," he added.
The study is published in the July 19 issue of BMC Medicine
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