Statin Use May Slightly Impair Brain Function

The results of a new study suggest that treatment with a cholesterol-lowering statin called simvastatin (Zocor) may have small negative effects on brain function. The effects on cognitive function were "too small" to have any immediate implications for the way the statin is prescribed, but they do suggest the possibility that the drug may harm the brain, lead researcher Dr. Matthew F. Muldoon, from the University of Pittsburgh, told Reuters Health. Muldoon and his colleagues published their findings in the American Journal of Medicine.