ReviewTranslational neurodegeneration2018
The role of statins in both cognitive impairment and protection against dementia: a tale of two mechanisms.
Review in Translational neurodegeneration, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 115 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
115 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 224 citations in OpenAlex.
- Advances in statin adverse reactions and the potential mechanisms: A systematic review.Journal of advanced research · 2025Pooled it
- Statins and the risk of dementia: a meta-analysis.Acta neurologica Belgica · 2025Pooled it
- A large-scale genome-wide cross-trait analysis reveals shared genetic architecture between Alzheimer's disease and gastrointestinal tract disorders.Communications biology · 2022Pooled it
- The efficacy of statins in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trial.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2020Pooled it
- Lipid-lowering Drugs and Neurocognitive Function: A Systematic Review.In vivo (Athens, Greece)Pooled it
- The effects of atorvastatin on emotional processing, reward learning, verbal memory and inflammation in healthy volunteers: An experimental medicine study.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2021Trial
- Simvastatin rescues cognitive impairment in an AβNeuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Cholesterol at the Center of Alzheimer's Disease: A Unifying Hypothesis on the Pathogenic Mechanism.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Statin-Induced Coenzyme Q Deficiency Induces Metabolic Reprogramming in Astrocytes.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Brain, benefit, or burden? Revisiting statins and cognitive function in older adults.GeroScience · 2026Review
- Association between three lipid-lowering drugs and amnesia: a real-world pharmacovigilance study.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2026Article
- Association between non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (NHHR) and cognitive impairment in middle-aged and elderly Chinese population.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2026Article
- Efficacy and Safety of Statins in MASLD and Other Chronic Liver Diseases.Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- The heterogeneous treatment effects of statins on dementia: a target trial emulation with causal machine learning using integrated genetic and real-world data.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026Article
- Statin therapy on dementia in elderly type 2 diabetes patients with delirium.Diabetology & metabolic syndrome · 2025Article
- Activation of the AMPK Signaling and Brain Function: A Friend or Foe?Journal of neurochemistry · 2025Review
- A Deep Subgrouping Framework for Precision Drug Repurposing via Emulating Clinical Trials on Real-world Patient Data.KDD : proceedings. International Conference on Knowledge Discovery & Data Mining · 2025Article
- Article
- Are Hippocampal Hypoperfusion and ATP Depletion Prime Movers in the Genesis of Alzheimer's Disease? A Review of Recent Pertinent Observations from Molecular Biology.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- A Comprehensive Review of the Latest Approaches to Managing Hypercholesterolemia: A Comparative Analysis of Conventional and Novel Treatments: Part I.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
55 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Nearly 30% of adults 40 years and older in the United States are on a statin. Their widespread use heightens the importance of careful consideration of their varied effects on the body. Although randomized controlled trials have not confirmed cognitive impairing effects with statins, continuing evidence suggests statins have the ability to cause reversible cognitive impairment in some patients. Paradoxically, statins have also been shown to decrease the risk of dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and improve cognitive impairment in some cases. However, randomized controlled trials have similarly failed to find the beneficial effect. Supporting evidence for both claims is compelling whereas known limitations of the clinical trials may explain the lack of findings. This narrative review aims to explain why there is still controversy and how both effects can, and may, be possible. The mechanisms that have been hypothesized for each effect are seemingly independent from one another and may explain the contradicting results. Being mindful of the complex effects of statins, health care providers need to be able to identify patients who are at risk for or already experiencing cognitive impairment from statin use while also identifying those who could potentially decrease their risk of dementia with statins.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.