ht newsmax
Statins, noted for reducing cholesterol levels that can increase the risk of heart disease, also can protect nerve cells against brain damage that occurs in patients with Alzheimer's disease, according to new research.

The results of the research of Amalia Dolga of the University of Groningen, The Netherlands, and her co-investigators is published in the June issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.

High cholesterol levels are a risk factor not only for cardiovascular disease, including stroke, but also for the development of Alzheimer's disease Therefore, many cholesterol-lowering drugs, including statins, have been developed in recent years.

The process that kills nerve cells of patients with Alzheimer's disease is complex, but the cells eventually die because they are strongly overstimulated, a process called excitotoxicity.

Dolga and colleagues overstimulated such nerve cells and clearly demonstrated that treatment with a statin called Lovastatin could prevent the death of nerve cells under these conditions.

The statins not only prevented cells from dying but also prevented the loss of memory capacity that normally occurs after such cell death. In a previous study, Dolga had showed that these statins stimulate the protective capacity of tumor necrosis factor, which is a key player in the brain's immune response.

Dolga has demonstrated in animal experiments that this tumor necrosis factor has a strong beneficial effect on nerve cells and can protect nerve cells against death. A widely prescribed drug like statins can activate this protective pathway revealing strong beneficial effect.