Statins can cause memory loss

Dear Dr. Gott: I was a healthy 50-year-old athlete with high cholesterol levels, until my doctor insisted that I take Lipitor. Within weeks, I noticed increasing weakness, muscle pain and memory problems.

My doctor obtained a blood test (CPK) that, he claims, refuted the conclusion that my symptoms were secondary to the drug.

I stopped the Lipitor.

Within days, I noticed improvement in strength and less pain. However, I am still left with a failing memory. I forget names, cannot balance my checkbook because I cannot add or subtract, and am at a loss to learn anything new.

My physician insists that these side effects are rare and he wants me back on the Lipitor. But I refuse to jeopardize my brain function for whatever heart benefits I might have from the Lipitor. Please advise me.

Dear Reader: Most physicians acknowledge that cholesterol-lowering “statin” drugs such as Lipitor and Zocor can cause liver inflammation and, in rare instances, severe muscle damage (marked by weakness and muscular pain). We have been taught that a blood test that measures creatine phosphokinase (CPK) is an accurate diagnostic tool to identify this condition. But it may not be. Patients with statin-induced muscle disorders may have normal CPK values. In such situations, the continued use of Lipitor is hazardous.

However, based on your experience with this statin drug, I am concerned about your mental changes because other patients have reported similar problems in a small number of cases. The statin drug class is one of the most widely prescribed in the world.

The issue of peripheral neuropathy and memory loss in patients taking statin drugs was noted in The Medical Letter, Nov. 22, 2004. (The article is available on the Web for a small charge at www.medicalletter.org.) A Dec. 28, 2003, article in Heart Disease Weekly also mentioned anecdotal reports of memory loss.

In short, both pieces state that a small number of patients have reported neurological deficits while taking statin drugs. Granted, most of these problems may be directly related to dosage (the higher, the more likely side effects) and the length of time taking the drug, yet the potential side effects should be known by all patients using the drug and doctors prescribing it.

I share The Medical Letter’s conclusions with all my patients on statin drugs – and, I hope, other physicians will follow my lead.

I hope that you will find these findings helpful. Keep me informed.

I need to state at this point that I have no financial interest in any pharmaceutical company, including those who are in competition with the companies that produce statin drugs, or The Medical Letter (a nonprofit organization). My responsibility is to provide information to my readers that is uncontaminated.