Quote from the full text of the study:

"This result suggests

that statins do not reduce the risk of dementia by

as much as half. Furthermore, 2 other longitudinal studies

of statin use and AD42,43 find results that closely approximate

ours-ie, a null result in prospective analyses

but an apparent "protective" effect in cross-sectional

or simulated case-control analyses. In all, the prospective

analyses in this and the other 2 studies fail to find

evidence of protection with statins in more than 33000

person-years of observation."

42. Li G, Higdon R, Kukull W, Peskind E, Moore KV, Tsuang D, van Belle G,
McCornick

W, Bowen JD, Teri L, Schellenberg GD, Larson EB. Statin therapy and risk

of dementia in the elderly: a community-based prospective cohort study.
Neurology.

2004;63:1624-1628.

43. Rea TD, Breitner JC, Psaty BM, Fitzpatrick AL, Lopez OL, Newman AB,
Hazzard

WR, Zandi PP, Burke GL, Lyketsos CG, Bernick C, Kuller LH. Statins and

the risk of incident dementia: the Cardiovascular Health Study. Arch Neurol.

In press.

Abstract from Pub Med:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstra
ct&list_uids=15699299

1: Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2005 Feb;62(2):217-24.

Do statins reduce risk of incident dementia and Alzheimer disease? The Cache
County Study.

Zandi PP, Sparks DL, Khachaturian AS, Tschanz J, Norton M, Steinberg M,
Welsh-Bohmer KA, Breitner JC; Cache County Study investigators.

Department of Mental Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns
Hopkins
University, Baltimore, MD, USA.

BACKGROUND: Prior reports suggest reduced occurrence of dementia and
Alzheimer
disease (AD) in statin users, but, to our knowledge, no prospective studies
relate statin use and dementia incidence. OBJECTIVE: To examine the
association
of statin use with both prevalence and incidence of dementia and AD. DESIGN:
Cross-sectional studies of prevalence and incidence and a prospective study
of
incidence of dementia and AD among 5092 elderly residents (aged 65 years or
older) of a single county. Participants were assessed at home in 1995-1997
and
again in 1998-2000. A detailed visual inventory of medicines, including
statins
and other lipid-lowering agents, was collected at both assessments. MAIN
OUTCOME
MEASURES: Diagnosis of dementia and of AD. RESULTS: From 4895 participants
with
data sufficient to determine cognitive status, we identified 355 cases of
prevalent dementia (200 with AD) at initial assessment. Statin use was
inversely
associated with prevalence of dementia (adjusted odds ratio, 0.44; 95%
confidence interval, 0.17-0.94). Three years later, we identified 185 cases
of
incident dementia (104 with AD) among 3308 survivors at risk. Statin use at
baseline did not predict incidence of dementia or AD (adjusted hazard ratio
for
dementia, 1.19; 95% confidence interval, 0.53-2.34; adjusted hazard ratio
for
AD, 1.19; 95% confidence interval, 0.35-2.96), nor did statin use at
follow-up
(adjusted odds ratio for dementia, 1.04; 95% confidence interval, 0.56-1.81;
adjusted odds ratio for AD, 0.85; 95% confidence interval, 0.32-1.88).
CONCLUSIONS: Although statin use might be less frequent in those with
prevalent
dementia, we found no association between statin use and subsequent onset of
dementia or AD. Further research is warranted before costly dementia
prevention
trials with statins are undertaken.

PMID: 15699299 [PubMed - in process]

Many of us who have been exposed first-hand to the devastating cognitive
adverse effects of statins have been tremendously skeptical of the "Can
statins prevent Alz?????" headlines, which appeared at a time that
conveniently offset articles in the popular media that exposed the memory
loss caused by statins.

We doubters also questioned how the studies would differentiate between Alz
and statin-induced memory loss.

As it turns out, this latest study shows that statins do NOT prevent
Alzheimer's:

     Statins Don't Protect Against Dementia: Study
     http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=healthNews&storyID=2005-02
-10T211401Z_01_B371082_RTRIDST_0_HEALTH-STATINS-DEMENTIA-DC.XML
     Reuters.uk, UK - 5 hours ago
     NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The use of cholesterol-lowering drugs
belonging to the statin family, such as Lipitor or Pravacol, does not seem
to have any effect ...

     Statins Don't Protect Against Dementia: Study
     http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=7598600
     Reuters - 5 hours ago
     NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The use of cholesterol-lowering drugs
belonging to the statin family, such as Lipitor or Pravacol, does not seem
to have any effect ...

     Statins Don't Protect Against Dementia: Study
     http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory?id=488976
     ABC News - 5 hours ago
     Feb 10, 2005 - NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The use of
cholesterol-lowering drugs belonging to the statin family, such as Lipitor
or Pravacol, does not seem ...

Statins Don't Protect Against Dementia: Study
Thu Feb 10, 2005 9:15 PM GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The use of cholesterol-lowering drugs belonging
to the statin family, such as Lipitor or Pravacol, does not seem to have any
effect on the risk of dementia or Alzheimer's disease, according to findings
from a new study.

This supports the results of another study, but run counter other study
findings that have linked statin use with a reduced risk of dementia.

The current study involved elderly residents living in Cache County, Utah,
who were evaluated for statin use and dementia between 1995 and 1997 and
then again between 1998 and 2000.

Dr. John C. S. Breitner, from the VA Puget Sound Health Care System in
Seattle, and colleagues report their findings in the Archives of General
Psychiatry.

Of the 4,895 subjects evaluated at the initial assessment, 355 had dementia,
including 200 with Alzheimer's disease. In this analysis, statin use was
associated with a 56-percent reduction in risk of dementia.

During 3-year follow-up, 185 of 3308 at-risk survivors were diagnosed with
dementia, including 104 with Alzheimer's disease. In this analysis, statin
use at the start of the study or at follow-up had no effect on the risk of
dementia or Alzheimer's disease.

One explanation for the different findings could be that after dementia sets
in, patients may simply be less likely to use statins, along with other
drugs.

Studies with sufficient statistical power are needed to assess the effect of
statin use on dementia risk, the authors note. "Until such research is able
to demonstrate more promising results, however, we suggest that costly
randomized trials of statins are premature."

SOURCE: Archives of General Psychiatry, February 2005.