Statins Send Minds Down the Memory Hole

by Heidi Stevenson

4 August 2009

Once so rare it was considered a medical anomaly, more a cause for curiosity in medical texts than something to be studied, amnesia is becoming a commonplace complaint in doctor's offices and emergency rooms. This is another case of iatrogenic injury, and the cause is usually statins. Those routinely prescribed pills given mostly to healthy people are producing a wide array of devastating disorders. Among them is brain damage, most commonly in the form of amnesia.

Dr. Duane Graveline experienced this himself. He had been a test pilot and trained as a NASA astronaut. The statin Lipitor® was prescribed at his annual astronaut physical. Six weeks later, his wife found him "aimlessly walking about the driveway and yard" (his words). He reports that she said he "acted confused and gave no evidence of recognizing her." He refused to enter his own home. Through the help of a physician friend, he was coaxed into seeking help. Years later, Dr. Graveline still remembers none of this.

The neurological exam found nothing wrong, and the neurologist didn't make a connection with the statin presription. Dr. Graveline, after finding no other possible reason, suspected Lipitor, so he discontinued its use until his next annual NASA exam. He told the doctors of his previous experience with amnesia, but they discounted it and represcribed the same drug, though at a lower dose. Just like the previous year, he had another episode six weeks after starting the drug, this time regressing to his teen years, a more fearful form of amnesia. Instead of not forming new memories, as had happened the year before, his mind had lost the majority of his life. He had lost his years of NASA training, his years of medical practice, and his years of space research.

In spite of his doctors' belief that Lipitor could not have had anything to do with it, and even his wife's suggestion that it was simply part of the aging process, Dr. Graveline didn't accept the idea that his brain was deteriorating in some sort of normal progression. He contacted The People's Pharmacy, which published his story. Hundreds of people responded with their own tales of memory loss from statin drugs.

To lose one's memory is to lose one's self. It's a frightening and frustrating experience, one that's becoming more and more common as more and more people are put on statins. Loss of memory is not the only mental effect caused by statins. First noted were increases in accidents and violent deaths.

Statins Cause an Increase in Violent Deaths

Whoa! How can taking a statin drug cause someone to have an accident? We'll get into that. First though, let's just take a look at the facts.

Dr. Malcolm Kendrick, who wrote The Great Cholesterol Con, reports that violent deaths associated with statin use were noted long ago, but dismissed as simply a chance thing—something that researchers decided couldn't possibly be caused by statins and therefore was ignored, in spite of the fact that it was a regular observation of statin tests. Studies focused on violent deaths and statins have shown that this is a consistent problem.

As far back as 1990, the fact that people taking cholesterol-lowering drugs were more likely to die from accidents, suicide, and violence was noted in a study published by the British Medical Journal⁽¹⁾. Interestingly, the authors found this conclusion (p=.004) to be ten times more sure than their conclusion that these drugs lower the risk of coronary heart disease (p=.04)

In 1998, Dr. Beatrice Golomb (MD and PhD) produced a study of studies in the Annals of Internal Medicine documenting a strong and probable causative association between low cholesterol and violence.⁽²⁾

In a 1994 editorial, the British Medical Journal stated, "In a population with naturally low cholesterol concentrations (Shanghai, China) a low cholesterol concentration was significantly associated with a higher death rate from non-medical causes."⁽³⁾

In 2000, The Royal College of Psychiatrists published a study showing a link between "impulsivity, depression and suicidal intent" and low cholesterol levels, and that those who attempted suicide or self-harm had the lowest levels.

But that's about low cholesterol, you say, not statins! Absolutely right, and that's the point.

Lower Cholesterol Results in Mental Problems

Statins do achieve their goal of lowering cholesterol, though that has little to do with heart disease.⁽⁴⁾ That's the problem. Low cholesterol levels are associated with changes in the brain.

Although it was known that about 25% of the body's cholesterol is in the brain, Dr. Golomb and the editors of the British Medical Journal couldn't know how low cholesterol could have such an effect. It wasn't until 2001 that Dr. Frank Pfrieger's study on the function of brain glial cells documented that the electrical signals generated by synapses requires cholesterol.⁽⁵⁾

So, without adequate cholesterol, your brain cannot form synapses that allow you to think and remember. It's certainly not a stretch to imagine that this accounts for the increase in violent deaths in people taking statins. Imagine the confusion a malfunctioning brain can induce when driving or trying to cross a busy road. A confused person can behave in erratic ways, causing those around to respond badly.

What's Going On?

According to Dr. Graveline, doctors and emergency rooms have been faced with an influx of patients suffering from amnesia, in spite of such a problem being nearly unheard-of a few years ago. This is happening at the same time that statins have become a blockbuster drug, and their use has been expanding explosively. The risks of these drugs are significant, with an enormous array of severe problems associated, including neuropathy; muscle weakness, pain and Rhabdomyolysis; and heart failure.

Could it be that the apparent explosion of Alzheimer's victims is actually an epidemic of iatrogenic disease—illness caused by medical procedures? When doctors are commonly seeing patients presenting with a condition that was so rare 20-30 years ago it was considered nothing more than a curiosity, shouldn't questions be posed? Something's very much awry when a drug with the potential of causing mental problems is pushed on so many people, even to the point of treating it as no more risky than taking a multivitamin a day—especially in light of documentation showing a connection between a drug they're taking and the symptoms they're experiencing.

Before taking that statin—or continuing taking it—you would be well advised to consider the risks, including the potential of sending your mind down the memory hole. Ask whether the theory behind the drug even makes sense. (Hint: It doesn't.⁽⁴⁾)

Remember the most important issue of all: No one else lives inside your skin. No one else lives with the effects of your medical treatment. It isn't your doctor's mind at issue—it's your own.