CHICAGO - Statins, the cholesterol-lowering drugs taken by millions of
Americans, might also reduce the risk of cataracts, a preliminary study
suggests.

Adults who took statins were found to be 45 percent less likely to
develop the most common type of age-related cataracts.

Other researchers warned that something other than statins might explain
the results and that the study does not prove cause-and-effect.

The results were a surprise because of earlier concerns that some
cholesterol medication might increase the risk of cataracts, a common
clouding-over of the lens of the eye that can lead to poor vision and
blindness. In fact, several cholesterol drugs never made it to market
because of those concerns.

The study, published in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical
Association, involved 1,299 Beaver Dam, Wis., residents who were followed
for five years.

Nuclear cataracts — which affect the eye lens nucleus — were diagnosed in
more than 200 participants, or in about 12 percent of statin users,
compared with 17 percent of nonusers. After factoring in the
participants' age, the researchers concluded that statin users were about
45 percent less likely to develop nuclear cataracts.

"It was pretty surprising," said lead author Dr. Barbara Klein, an eye
researcher at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

There were no statistically significant differences in rates for two
other less common types of cataracts.

Statins, which are taken by millions of Americans and include such top-
selling drugs as Lipitor, Pravachol and Zocor, dramatically lower levels
of artery-clogging bad cholesterol.

Statins have also been reported to have antioxidant benefits and to
attack inflammation. And both oxygen damage to the body and inflammation
are believed to be related to cataracts.

Cataracts affect more than 20 million Americans and are a major cause of
vision impairment and blindness worldwide. Most are associated with
aging; more than half of U.S. adults in their 70s and older are affected.

Cataracts are usually treated with surgery, typically an outpatient
procedure in which the clouded lens is replaced with an artificial lens.
Cataract removal is among the most common U.S. operations; by some
estimates more than 1 million Americans undergo it each year. The surgery
is often covered by insurance.

In the latest study, the statin-cataract relationship remained strong
even when the researchers factored in whether participants smoked, a
habit that is linked to the development of cataracts.

But Debra Schaumberg, an eye specialist at Harvard's Brigham and Women's
Hospital, cautioned against over-interpreting the results.

"While I agree with the authors that the potential for a relatively
benign and inexpensive preventive therapy for cataract would have
substantial public health importance, I think it is still far too early
to assign any such role to statin medications," she said.

Similarly, researcher Natalie Kurinij of the National Eye Institute,
which helped fund the study, said the study does not mean people should
take statins to ward off cataracts.

"There was no information on duration of use or the doses used. You would
really need that kind of information in order to make a definitive
call," she said.

The Research to Prevent Blindness, a New York-based foundation, also
contributed funding for the study.

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FYI, the subject line was theirs, not mine.

L.