A widely used cholesterol-lowering drug improved memory and cognition as well as depressive symptoms in people with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease, according to results of a small study."This is the first investigational use in 10 years of an FDA-approved drug that shows promise in Alzheimer’s,” said study author Larry Sparks, head of the Roberts Laboratory for Neurodegenerative Disease Research at Sun Health Research Institute in Sun City, Ariz. “We did find significant changes in a small group of patients."The results of this pilot study, which involved the drug Lipitor (generic name atorvastatin), were presented Tuesday at a the American Heart Association’s scientific sessions in New Orleans.
