Your Cholesterol is Low? Watch Out!

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Your Cholesterol is Low? Watch Out!

http://www.spacedoc.net/low_cholesterol.html

 

Researcher Penelope K. Elias MD of Boston University reported recently in

Psychosomatic Medicine that persons having naturally low cholesterol levels

demonstrate poorer performance on a variety of cognitive tests.

 

In this study, data was analyzed from 789 men and 1,105 women to examine the

relationship between total cholesterol and cognitive performance. They found

that those who had the lowest total cholesterol performed more poorly on tests

of word similarities, word fluency and attention and concentration ability

than patients with higher cholesterol levels. " It is not entirely surprising

that

lower cholesterol levels were associated with moderately lower levels of

cognitive function, given that cholesterol is important in brain function, "

reported lead study author, Doctor Elias.

 

“The differences were not small,†she reported. Those in the lowest total

cholesterol group (a cholesterol level of under 200) were 49 percent more likely

to perform poorly and 80 percent more likely to perform very poorly than were

participants in the highest total cholesterol group (240 to 380).

 

 

The study was performed with people who had naturally low levels of

cholesterol and were not being treated with anti-cholesterol drugs. " Naturally

low

levels of cholesterol and lowered levels of cholesterol may have very different

ramifications for cognitive function, " Elias said. "

 

Yet others have found that low serum cholesterol as a result of statin drug

use is also associated with cognitive dysfunction. On their review of some

25,000 adverse drug reports taken from FDA’s Medwatch repository, Wagstaff and

others discovered hundreds of reports of statin associated cognitive dysfunction

such as extreme forgetfulness, confusion and disorientation in these statin

users in their diligent search for transient global amnesia, their primary

interest. Their report of 60 cases of statin associated TGA was published in

Pharmacotherapy, August 2003, It was the first significant report of this

subject

in the medical literature.

 

Another important report reflecting on the consequences of induced

cholesterol lowering is that of Muldoon who reported 100% cognitive decline in

statin

users if sufficiently sensitive testing is used. He did two separate studies on

this important subject, the first with Mevacor, the second with Zocor, both

reported in the American Journal of Medicine, with identical results.

 

Duane Graveline MD MPH