Lipitor and memory problems

[chasin rainbows]

I've been hearing that more & more ppl are having memory loss while on lipitor; is anyone having the same problems? A recent news article from the Indianna Gazette (Pennsylvania) states that "Statins cause memory loss"; Lipitor is in the statin catagory. I've been on lipitor for about 6 years & just lately it seems as "I'm walking around in a fog" & "somewhat" forgetfull(atleast I think so --- my son says differently --- he says I'm very forgetfull). I'll be 53 on thursday & since I've been hearing more about this; I've come to realise that it seems I'm forgetting things from day to day. I have a dr appt in 3 weeks; but I was just wondering if anyone heard of this or are having problems too? Thank you.

[Pamster]

I take crestor and I haven't noticed any memory issues with it. I am in my late thirties so I would definitely want to stop taking it if such an effect were to occur to me. Never had Lipitor though. Maybe someone else with some experience can add more to this then I can. :)

[mrsdoubtfyre]

if you haven't already:

http://www.spacedoc.net/lipitor.htm

This is a new paper, '07 :
Drug Saf. 2007;30(3):195-201. Links
Psychiatric adverse reactions with statins, fibrates and ezetimibe : implications for the use of lipid-lowering agents.

* Tatley M,
* Savage R.

New Zealand Pharmacovigilance Centre, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.

The HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors ('statins') have come into widespread use internationally. There has been a long history of their use in New Zealand and this use has increased in recent years. There has also been an increase in the number of reports to the New Zealand Centre for Adverse Reactions Monitoring (CARM) of suspected psychiatric adverse reactions associated with statins. The reactions mentioned in these reports include depression, memory loss, confusion and aggressive reactions. Convincing reports to CARM of recurrence of these reactions upon rechallenge add weight to recent studies reporting serious psychiatric disturbances in association with statin treatment. Aggressive reactions associated with statins are poorly documented in the literature. These observations emphasise the need to be vigilant in looking for these reactions as they can have a significant personal impact on a patient. The observation that other lipid-lowering agents have similar adverse effects supports the hypothesis that decreased brain cell membrane cholesterol may be important in the aetiology of these psychiatric reactions.

PMID: 17343428 [PubMed - in process]


and this:
Pharmacotherapy. 2006 Aug;26(8):1190-2.Click here to read Links
Short-term memory loss associated with rosuvastatin.

* Galatti L,
* Polimeni G,
* Salvo F,
* Romani M,
* Sessa A,
* Spina E.

Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine and Pharmacology, Section of Pharmacology, University of Messina, Messina, Italy. lgalatti@unime.it

Memory loss and cognitive impairment have been reported in the literature in association with several 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (statins), but we found no published case reports associated with rosuvastatin. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of rosuvastatin-related short-term memory loss. A 53-year-old Caucasian man with hypercholesterolemia experienced memory loss after being treated with rosuvastatin 10 mg/day. He had no other concomitant conditions or drug therapies. After discontinuation of rosuvastatin, the neuropsychiatric adverse reaction resolved gradually, suggesting a probable drug association. During the following year, the patient remained free from neuropsychiatric disturbances. Clinicians should be aware of possible adverse cognitive reactions during statin therapy, including rosuvastatin.

PMID: 16863497 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]


http://www.ravnskov.nu/cholesterol.htm

[chasin rainbows]

mrsdoubtfyre~~
I seen this article before (enclosed link). Also; thanks for the other articles;
(interesting & proves my point)

Pamster~
How long have you been on Crestor? I have a dr appt in a few weeks & I'll see what he thinks of my concerns with lipitor. And I'm also gonna talk to him about crestor.

Thanks to both of you.

[mrsdoubtfyre]

is the most toxic and potentially harmful statin on the market currently.

It is the only one that had severe toxic effects during the trials. Also slow metabolizers,
(many of them of Asian decent) have different dosing requirements or risk severe damage.

http://www.citizen.org/pressroom/release.cfm?ID=1737
une 24, 2004

FDA Knew of Crestor Dangers but Approved Drug Anyway, Public Citizen Writes in Lancet Medical Journal

More Cases of Muscle Deterioration, Kidney Failure Reported

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had evidence before approving the cholesterol drug Crestor that it caused an increased incidence of rhabdomyolysis (severe muscle deterioration), yet the agency approved it anyway, erroneously believing that this toxicity was limited to an 80 milligram dose that was not ultimately approved, Dr. Sidney Wolfe, director of Public Citizen’s Health Research Group, writes in this week’s issue of The Lancet (June 26).

The approval came despite the fact that agency officials had said that any new cholesterol drug should be approved only if it has a comparable or lower risk of rhabdomyolysis than drugs already on the market. In fact, records show that patients taking Crestor experience severe muscle deterioration at much higher rates than patients taking other cholesterol-lowering drugs. The rate of post-marketing reports of rhabdomyolysis for Crestor appears to exceed that of all other currently marketed statins (cholesterol-lowering drugs). Also, the drug is associated with primary kidney failure.

“To allow AstraZeneca to continue desperately seeking a piece of the estimated $20 billion-a-year statin market hardly justifies governments allowing this ultimately doomed drug to stay on the market,” Wolfe wrote.

From the time of its approval in August 2003 to mid-April, 18 patients, including 11 in the United States, suffered severe muscle deterioration. In addition, there have been eight reported cases of acute kidney failure and four of kidney insufficiency, according to data obtained from the FDA. Most of these patients were using the low 10 milligram dose. More than 20 additional cases of rhabdomyolysis have been reported to the FDA since mid-April, agency sources say.

In March, Public Citizen filed a petition with the FDA to have the drug taken off the market. The petition is still pending. Meanwhile, AstraZeneca has launched a major direct-to-consumer advertising campaign to promote the drug.

Crestor is the only statin that exhibited rhabdomyolysis before being approved by the FDA.



THIS is what you need to discuss with your doctor-- a non toxic approach:
Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2000 Oct;10(5):247-51. Links
L-carnitine reduces plasma lipoprotein(a) levels in patients with hyper Lp(a).

* Sirtori CR,
* Calabresi L,
* Ferrara S,
* Pazzucconi F,
* Bondioli A,
* Baldassarre D,
* Birreci A,
* Koverech A.

Center E. Grossi Paoletti, Institute of Pharmacological Sciences, University of Milano, Italy.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Elevated Lp(a) levels are a significant cardiovascular risk factor, particularly for young individuals and for subjects with concomitant high LDL cholesterol. Increased Lp(a) is believed to be linked to an enhanced production of the lipoprotein, controlled by genetic factors; it can be reduced by agents such as nicotinic acid, lowering free fatty acid inflow to the liver. METHODS AND RESULTS: L-carnitine, a natural compound stimulating fatty acid oxidation at the mitochondrial level, was tested in a double blind study in 36 subjects with Lp(a) levels ranging between 40-80 mg/dL, in most with concomitant LDL cholesterol and triglyceride elevations. L-carnitine (2 g/day) significantly reduced Lp(a) levels (-7.7% vs baseline and -11.7% vs placebo treatment), the reduction being more dramatic in the subjects with the more marked elevations. In particular, in the L-carnitine group, 14 out of 18 subjects (77.8%) had a significant reduction of Lp(a) vs only 7 out of 18 (38.9%) in the placebo group (chi 2 = 4.11, p = 0.0452). In a significant number of subjects the reduction of Lp(a) resulted in a return of this major cardiovascular risk parameter to the normal range. CONCLUSIONS: L-carnitine offers a potentially useful therapeutic agent for atherogenic conditions characterized by high Lp(a) levels, also in view of the excellent tolerability and essential lack of major side effects.

PMID: 11213533 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]


and:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=12867219&itool=iconabstr&query_hl=3&itool=pubmed_docsum

Another safer alternative if you must lower cholesterol (and this conclusion does not pertain to everyone) is niacin.

[Pamster]

Wow that's an eye opener, thank you for posting it Mrs. D. I definitely will stop taking this one...