Huffington Post (UK), Daily Mail, et al. - Statins halt Alzheimer's

A common cholesterol-lowering drug may be effective against Alzheimer's if given at an early stage of the disease, new research suggests. The findings, from a mouse study, add to laboratory evidence that cholesterol-lowering statins may prevent some of the symptoms of Alzheimer's.

Earlier work by the same Canadian team showed that the drug simvastatin improved blood flow in the brains of year-old laboratory mice with Alzheimer's. The new study by McGill University found it also boosted learning and memory - but only in younger six-month-old animals whose disease had not progressed far.

Study leader Dr Edith Hamel, from McGill ­University in Montreal said: “Our study shows that Simvastatin can protect against some of the ­damaging effects of ­Alzheimer’s disease on nerve cells involved in memory, if administered early in the disease process.” The findings are published in the latest issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.