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Medical Forum / General / Cardiology / February 2006Statin Memory Loss misdiagnosed as Alzheimer's - People's Pharmacy
Excerpts from the People's Pharmacy column, see the full column at: http://www.peoplespharmacy.org/archives/editorial/are_cholesterol_drugs_linked_t o_memory_loss.asp Are Cholesterol Drugs Linked to Memory Loss? February 13, 2006 "Recently we heard of another disturbing experience. Michael Kirk-Duggan was a retired professor of business law and computer science. He was diagnosed with probable Alzheimer's disease that was progressing very rapidly. He went to his 50th college reunion with a sign around his neck that said, "I'm Mike. I have Alzheimer's disease." At his youngest daughter's wedding, he did not recognize people he had known more than 20 years. His decline made it clear that he would need long-term nursing care. But then he read our column about statins and memory problems. With his doctor's awareness, he discontinued the Zocor he had been taking. Although it took many months, he gradually regained his memory and cognitive ability. He is back to reading three newspapers a day and is sharp as a tack. A complete neurological workup showed no signs of Alzheimer's disease." Part of the introductory text: "Can cholesterol-lowering drugs affect memory? That is a question we have wrestled with for nearly six years. It started when we received a letter from a woman who complained that several months after starting on Lipitor she was "having trouble remembering names and coming up with the right word. At dinner once I said, 'Please pass the elephant' though I wanted the bread." We didn't know what to make of this concern because we could find nothing in the medical literature connecting statin-type medicines like Lipitor to memory loss. Before long, however, letters started pouring in." <read more at the link provided> We became alarmed when we received this story: "I am a retired family doctor and former astronaut. Two years ago at my annual astronaut physical at Johnson Space Center (JSC) I was started on Lipitor. Six weeks later I experienced my first episode of total global amnesia lasting six hours. They couldn't find anything wrong with me so I suspected Lipitor and discontinued it. "Other doctors and pharmacists were unaware of similar problems. Believing it must have been a coincidence, I restarted Lipitor a year later. After six weeks I landed in the ER with a twelve-hour episode of total global amnesia. I am more convinced than ever of a Lipitor relationship." The astronaut-physician is Duane Graveline, M.D. In response to his experience, we heard from other readers who had suffered episodes of total global amnesia while taking Lipitor, Zocor or similar drugs. Total global amnesia is a temporary but frightening loss of memory. Dr. Graveline forgot that he was a physician or an astronaut and didn't even recognize his wife. He has summarized his experiences in a new book called "Statin Drugs: Side Effects and the Misguided War on Cholesterol" (available on the Web at: www.spacedoc.net). <read more at the link provided> ========= Other People's Pharmacy columns on the topic can be viewed at: http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/CMS/search.cgi?IncludeBlogs=1&search=statin+memor y&Search=Search Are Cholesterol Drugs Linked to Memory Loss? http://www.peoplespharmacy.org/archives/editorial/are_cholesterol_drugs_linked_t o_memory_loss.asp Newspaper Columns, Editorial February 13, 2006 Can cholesterol-lowering drugs affect memory? That is a question we have wrestled with for nearly six years. It started when we received a letter from a woman who complained that several months after starting on Lipitor she was "having trouble... Lipitor Linked to Memory Loss Episodes http://www.peoplespharmacy.org/archives/pharmacy_qa/lipitor_linked_to_memory_los s_episodes.asp Newspaper Columns, Pharmacy Q&A November 22, 2005 Q. In 1999 shortly after I began taking Lipitor I was working at the church with other volunteers. I went off to use the restroom and after half an hour someone came to look for me. I was walking around... Did Cholesterol Drug Cause Amnesia? http://www.peoplespharmacy.org/archives/pharmacy_qa/did_cholesterol_drug_cause_a mnesia.asp Newspaper Columns, Pharmacy Q&A July 18, 2005 Q. My cholesterol has always been around 200 but I have a bad family history and a past angioplasty. In addition to a good diet and regular exercise, my doctor has prescribed various statin drugs to lower my cholesterol. Three... Patients Find Statins Can Have Side Effects http://www.peoplespharmacy.org/archives/editorial/patients_find_statins_can_have _side_effects.asp Newspaper Columns, Editorial April 18, 2005 Guidelines for cholesterol control have become much more stringent. For millions of Americans, achieving the new targets requires strong medicine. Over the last decade, prescriptions for statin-type cholesterol-lowering drugs have soared. Such medications are extremely effective at getting the numbers... Low Cholesterol Affects Concentration http://www.peoplespharmacy.org/archives/pharmacy_qa/low_cholesterol_affects_conc entration.asp Newspaper Columns, Pharmacy Q&A February 28, 2005 Q. I took Lipitor for about eight months. One morning I awoke to pain in my neck, upper back, shoulders and arms. In addition, my arms are much weaker than before. The pain has been diagnosed as peripheral neuropathy. The... #523 The Dark Side of Statins http://secure.peoplespharmacy.com/PPcart.asp?pg=products&specific=jnroorg0 Radio Shows December 11, 2004 Cholesterol lowering drugs like Lipitor, Zocor and Crestor are the most successful drugs in the world. They bring down bad LDL cholesterol almost like magic and reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Some physicians believe these statin drugs... You quoted essentially the entire newspaper column except for these sentences: "Cholesterol-lowering drugs save lives. Many people take them safely. But for those few who develop memory problems, such drugs can be devastating. More research into this complicated issue is urgently needed." Why was that? Bill > Excerpts from the People's Pharmacy column, see the full column at: > http://www.peoplespharmacy.org/archives/editorial/are_cholesterol_drugs_linked_t o_memory_loss.asp [quoted text clipped - 107 lines] > like magic and reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Some physicians > believe these statin drugs... After all of the invective she spewed your way, I'll be surprised if she answers you. Shouldn't that last sentence read "A complete neurological workup showed no signs of *probable* Alzheimer's disease."? Besides, the entire article is filled with anecdotal "evidence". Also, notice how the title of the subject line is a question yet Sharon's subject line is a [false] statement. Just more of the same. L. "Bill" <xxx@yy.zz> wrote in news:_NuKf.15726$NS6.5388 @newssvr30.news.prodigy.com: > You quoted essentially the entire newspaper column except for these sentences: > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > >> Excerpts from the People's Pharmacy column, see the full column at: http://www.peoplespharmacy.org/archives/editorial/are_cholesterol_drugs_l inked_to_memory_loss.asp >> Are Cholesterol Drugs Linked to Memory Loss? >> February 13, 2006 [quoted text clipped - 60 lines] >> >> Are Cholesterol Drugs Linked to Memory Loss? http://www.peoplespharmacy.org/archives/editorial/are_cholesterol_drugs_l inked_to_memory_loss.asp >> Newspaper Columns, Editorial February 13, 2006 >> Can cholesterol-lowering drugs affect memory? That is a question we have [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >> >> Lipitor Linked to Memory Loss Episodes http://www.peoplespharmacy.org/archives/pharmacy_qa/lipitor_linked_to_mem ory_loss_episodes.asp >> Newspaper Columns, Pharmacy Q&A November 22, 2005 >> Q. In 1999 shortly after I began taking Lipitor I was working at the church >> with other volunteers. I went off to use the restroom and after half an hour >> someone came to look for me. I was walking around... >> >> Did Cholesterol Drug Cause Amnesia? http://www.peoplespharmacy.org/archives/pharmacy_qa/did_cholesterol_drug_ cause_amnesia.asp >> Newspaper Columns, Pharmacy Q&A July 18, 2005 >> Q. My cholesterol has always been around 200 but I have a bad family history >> and a past angioplasty. In addition to a good diet and regular exercise, my >> doctor has prescribed various statin drugs to lower my cholesterol. Three... >> >> Patients Find Statins Can Have Side Effects http://www.peoplespharmacy.org/archives/editorial/patients_find_statins_c an_have_side_effects.asp >> Newspaper Columns, Editorial April 18, 2005 >> Guidelines for cholesterol control have become much more stringent. For [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >> >> Low Cholesterol Affects Concentration http://www.peoplespharmacy.org/archives/pharmacy_qa/low_cholesterol_affec ts_concentration.asp >> Newspaper Columns, Pharmacy Q&A February 28, 2005 >> Q. I took Lipitor for about eight months. One morning I awoke to pain in my [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] >> like magic and reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Some physicians >> believe these statin drugs... > After all of the invective she spewed your way, I'll be surprised if she > answers you. [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > L. Yet just yesterday you posted an article on how statins helped. Yet your article was so unbelievably vague in terms of numbers published that no reasonable person could possibly read it and draw any conclusion what so ever. Based on the data in your article it would be as reasonable to conclude that statins caused heart attacks as prevented them. A fact I am sure you can not see as you have no data treatment skills. So it seems perfectly ok for you to post absolute crap just because it is pro statin. But let anyone publish something with actual data of any kind that says statins have a problem and you jump on them with your combat boots on. You are about as irrelavant and irritating as chung. Have a nice day. >>After all of the invective she spewed your way, I'll be surprised if she >>answers you. [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > jump on them with your combat boots on. You are about as irrelavant > and irritating as chung. Have a nice day. Excuse me ... it is Sharon who started all this and made this into a newsgroup of misleading information. I, for one, fully condone listener posting articles that appear to promote the benefits of statins (and I will do so also as I come across them). We need some balance here. Larry >>>After all of the invective she spewed your way, I'll be surprised if she >>>answers you. [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > > Larry The point is not how many on either side. The point is distorting the the truth. If someone does that, they should be called on it. Sharon deleted the part of the article that questioned wherther statins were really associated with memory loss and put the article title as a statement rather than a question which the original article did. Bill > > After all of the invective she spewed your way, I'll be surprised if she > > answers you. [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > jump on them with your combat boots on. You are about as irrelavant > and irritating as chung. Have a nice day. Excellent post. You made some great points. Jason  SignatureNEWSGROUP SUBSCRIBERS MOTTO We respect those subscribers that ask for advice or provide advice. We do NOT respect the subscribers that enjoy criticizing people. jason@nospam.com (Jason) wrote in news:jason-2102060914190001@66-52-22- 33.lsan.pw-dia.impulse.net: >> > After all of the invective she spewed your way, I'll be surprised if she >> > answers you. [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > Excellent post. You made some great points. > Jason Some things never change. L. bm459@scn.org wrote in news:1140538132.380623.79590 @g44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com: >> After all of the invective she spewed your way, I'll be surprised if she >> answers you. [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > jump on them with your combat boots on. You are about as irrelavant > and irritating as chung. Have a nice day. I posted an article of interest as I found it. It was not "my" article. The subject line was posted as I found it. I did not in any way change, alter, misconstrue or lie about the post in any way - quite contrary to what Sharon does all the time. If you want to deny that she does that, well, that's your problem. By the way jerkass, I have never denied that statins can cause side effects or can cause "problems". Sheesh. L. >> After all of the invective she spewed your way, I'll be surprised if she >> answers you. [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > jump on them with your combat boots on. You are about as irrelavant > and irritating as chung. Have a nice day. Thank you. There are copyrights that preclude posting everything in the article - which is why my posts always carry the link to the full article, and usually encourage readers to read it "read more at the link provided." Given a subset to choose from, naturally I select those items I believe are of most interest - the entire article is of interest, else I wouldn't post to bring attention to it. Also, as in this post, the readers are also encouraged to read the other SIX recent articles by the People's Pharmacy that discuss statin adverse effects (AEs). The People's Pharmacy is of interest to me because their first article on statin memory loss, plus Dr. Muldoon's first study, were essentially the only published material available when we first discovered my husband's memory loss was due to Lipitor 10 mg/day for 4 years. They are a question and answer format and they are in a position to receive many reports of adverse effects (perhaps more voluntary patient AE reports than the FDA? Don't know, but they are certainly more approachable and responsive.). To call their articles anecdotal is to state the obvious (Dear Abby is also anecdotal.) They make no pretense of being a peer reviewed medical journal, that is not what they do. They do, however, have the courage to bring to light concerns of patients. They have done this SIX times recently in regards to statin AEs. Like Michael Kirk-Duggan in the article, my husband's doctor did not suspect the statin. Like Michael Kirk-Duggan's rate of decline indicating the need for nursing care, my husband's cognitive abilities and short-term memory loss were severe, and declining rapidly, and so profound he was declared legally disabled. Like Michael Kirk-Duggan, halting of the statin resulted in improvement sufficient to rule out any other cause. Like Michael Kirk-Duggan, a complete neurological workup of my husband showed no sign of Alzheimer's disease. I hope that at some time in the future, my own husband will achieve a full recovery, like Michael Kirk-Duggan. As for the subject line of my post, it highlights the part of the article I thought most critical to bring to people's attention. It is not a direct quote, it is a SUBJECT summary, the exact nature of the topic under that subject is supplemented by the direct quote from the article. Those who would prefer a different summary subject and different highlighted parts of the article are welcome to start a new thread to quote the article to their own preferences and highlight their own perspectives. But then that is the nature of the ng medium, and we all know that. Thanks, for the support, and apologies in advance for the name-calling and ad hominem attacks it will no doubt but predictably leave you subject to. As you have noted so well, any mention of the existence of statin adverse effects brings that out in this ng. There seem to be full-time pharmco watchdogs employed here. Thanks again, and take care, Sharon >>> After all of the invective she spewed your way, I'll be surprised if she >>> answers you. [quoted text clipped - 78 lines] > Thanks again, and take care, > Sharon As you say, you changed the subject line of the article to reflect the things YOU considered most important. That changed the whole meaning of it because you left out the small part that cautioned against coming to the conclusion that Statin Memory Loss has been misdiagnosed as Alzheimer's. You left intact, however, the bulk of the article which mentions some cases in which this may or may not have happened. But as you say, since you changed the meaning of the article, you needed to change the title of the article to reflect your view not the author's view. That is a distortion. Bill > Thanks, for the support, and apologies in advance for the name-calling and > ad hominem attacks it will no doubt but predictably leave you subject to. As [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > Thanks again, and take care, > Sharon Why do you think "There seem to be full-time pharmco watchdogs employed here." is not an ad hominem attack and what evidence do you have to support your claim - other than someone disagreeing with you. Bill "Sharon Hope" <shope@anet.net> wrote in news:wPSdnSTTdLMpeWbeRVn- rQ@comcast.com: >>> After all of the invective she spewed your way, I'll be surprised if she >>> answers you. [quoted text clipped - 78 lines] > Thanks again, and take care, > Sharon Beside Bill's cogent response I would add that any name calling and ad hominem attacks lately have come from you, so if you are apologizing for *your* distasteful behavior, then advance apology accepted. That said, I still do not condone your misleading techniques Your assertion that some of us are pharma watchdogs is just ludicrous. L. > "Sharon Hope" <shope@anet.net> wrote in news:wPSdnSTTdLMpeWbeRVn- > rQ@comcast.com: [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > hominem attacks lately have come from you, > > L. Was it another Listener who wrote: "listener" <listener@nospam.net> wrote in message news:Xns9771A8EFE3A3Fsome1outthere@198.186.190.224... <snip> > By the way jerkass, I have never denied that statins can cause side > effects or can cause "problems". ???? Perfectly predictable! Nice touch making an ad hominem/namecalling combined attack to bm459, then immediately pointing the finger at me. Sort of a ad hominem/namecalling attack double play. Back to the killfile with you. "Sharon Hope" <shope@anet.net> wrote in news:a9mdneRwh4fgrmDeRVn- og@comcast.com: >> "Sharon Hope" <shope@anet.net> wrote in news:wPSdnSTTdLMpeWbeRVn- >> rQ@comcast.com: [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > > Back to the killfile with you. Well, I was responding to the poster, bm459 (who seems to have disappeared...figures) claiming that I "post absolute crap" and that I am "as irrelavant and irritating as chung." The crap part I can live with but compaing me to that paranoid religious nutbag psychopath chung is just too much and really upset and angered me. I thought "jerkass" was fairly benign and certainly mild compared to some of the hurtful things you said to Bill in recent posts. Whatever. L. |
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