10 Drugs That May Cause Memory Loss

2. Cholesterol-lowering drugs (Statins)

Why they are prescribed:
Statins are used to treat high cholesterol.

Examples:
Atorvastatin (Lipitor), fluvastatin (Lescol), lovastatin (Mevacor), pravastatin (Pravachol), rosuvastatin (Crestor) and simvastatin (Zocor).

How they can cause memory loss:
Drugs that lower blood levels of cholesterol may impair memory and other mental processes by depleting brain levels of cholesterol as well. In the brain, these lipids are vital to the formation of connections between nerve cells — the links underlying memory and learning. (The brain, in fact, contains a quarter of the body's cholesterol.)

A study published in the journal Pharmacotherapy in 2009 found that three out of four people using these drugs experienced adverse cognitive effects "probably or definitely related to" the drug. The researchers also found that 90 percent of the patients who stopped statin therapy reported improvements in cognition, sometimes within days. In February 2012, the Food and Drug Administration ordered drug companies to add a new warning label about possible memory problems to the prescribing information for statins.

Alternatives:
The safest way to lower your risk of cardiovascular disease is to follow a Mediterranean diet, exercise and maintain a healthy weight. The latest recommendations are that many people over 75 may not derive much benefit from statins unless they have cardiovascular disease or very high LDL (bad cholesterol) with significant risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Lower doses of statins or less potent ones may be more appropriate for some individuals and can reduce the likelihood of adverse effects like memory impairment. Also a new study indicates that Zetia (ezetimibe) can lower LDL and cardiovascular disease when added to statin drugs, so that a lower dose or less potent statin may be able to be used. You should discuss these options with your doctor or other health care provider.

Next page: Antiseizure drugs >>