Statin Use Linked to Lower Risk of Alzheimer Disease

High exposure to statins was associated with lower risk of Alzheimer disease (AD) diagnosis, according to a study published in JAMA Neurology.1

Researchers identified 400,000 Medicare beneficiaries who used statins between 2006 and 2013. Among that group, patients were classified by race/ethnicity and by high or low exposure to statins.

High exposure to all statins was associated with lower risk of AD diagnosis for women and men. Simvastatin was associated with lower AD diagnosis risk for white men and women, Hispanic men and women, and black women. Atorvastatin was associated with a reduced risk of AD diagnosis for women of all three racial/ethnic groups, and for Hispanic men. Pravastatin and rosuvastatin were associated with reduced AD risk for white women. High statin exposure of any kind was not associated with lower AD risk among black men.

The study authors pointed to the need for statin use in populations at elevated risk for AD diagnosis. The risk of AD is higher among ethnic minorities, they wrote. The right type of statin, for the right person, at the right time may provide an inexpensive means to decrease the burden of AD.

1. Zissimopoulos JM, Barthold D, Brinton RD, Joyce G. Sex and race differences in the association between statin use and the incidence of Alzheimer disease [published online ahead of print December 12, 2016]. JAMA Neurol.

NOT ALL STATINS ARE EQUAL

Researchers concluded in this study that some groups demonstrated lower AD diagnosis rates after high exposure to particular statins. A checkmark in the chart indicates that researchers found that the risk of AD diagnosis in a particular demographic group was low when that group was exposed to high use of a particular statin.

Pregnancy Caused Changes in Womens Brain Structure

Researchers concluded in a recent study that pregnancy results in substantial changes in the brain structure of women, including a reduction in gray matter (GM) volume. The changes were long-lasting, persisting at least 2 years after pregnancy. The findings were published in Nature Neuroscience.1

The researchers performed a prospective study involving first-time mothers and fathers and nulliparous control groups. Brain imaging was performed in men and women before and after pregnancy. Researchers found that GM volume reduction in postpartum mothers predicted measures of postpartum maternal attachment, suggesting that the brain changes were part of an adaptive process mothers undergo after delivery.

GM volume loss does not necessarily represent a bad thing, Elseline Hoekzema, PhD, told the New York Times.2 She said GM volume loss may represent a beneficial process of maturation or specialization. Brain changes, she told the Times, may enhance a mothers ability to recognize the needs of her infant, to recognize social threats, or to promote mother-infant bonding.

1. Hoekzema E, Barba-Mller E, Pozzobon C, et al. Pregnancy leads to long-lasting changes in human brain structure [published online ahead of print December 19, 2016]. Nat Neurosci.

2. Belluck P. Pregnancy changes the brain in ways that may help mothering. New York Times. December 19, 2016. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/19/health/pregnancy-brain-change.html?_r=0. Accessed January 11, 2017.

Fish Oil During Pregnancy Reduced Risk of Wheeze, Asthma in Offspring

Women who consumed fish oil in the third trimester of pregnancy significantly reduced the risk of persistent wheeze or asthma and infections of the lower respiratory tract in their offspring, according to research published in the New England Journal of Medicine.1

Researchers randomly assigned pregnant women to daily consumption of fish oil or placebo. Of nearly 700 children who completed the study, 17% of children in the treatment group had wheeze or asthma versus 24% of children in the control group (P = .035). Additionally, 32% of patients in the treatment group demonstrated infections in the lower respiratory tract versus 39% in the control group (P = .033).

No statistically significant associations between fish oil intake and asthma exacerbations, eczema, or allergic sensitization were observed.

1. Bisgaard H, Stokholm J, Chawes BL, et al. Fish oil derived fatty acids in pregnancy and wheeze and asthma in offspring. N Engl J Med. 2016;375:2530-2539.

Section Editor David S. Boyer, MD
• clinical professor of ophthalmology at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, department of ophthalmology, in Los Angeles, Calif.
• member of the Retina Today editorial advisory board
• +1-310-854-6201; vitdoc@LARetina.com