STATINs

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PhilD
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STATINs

Post by PhilD »

My wife who has Alzheimer, also has high cholesterol ( around 7) , yet she hardly eats meat and only takes good fats ( Olive oil), fish oil , avocado ) etc... she also does quite a bit of exercise every day. She stays well away from saturated fats and eats mainly salads , vegetables and fish . Also lots of blueberries. Some research says it's all about the size of the particles and that the brain needs cholesterol and recommend against taking satins ..... I have also read some research suggesting that statins do more harm than good. Any advice ? I am totally confused
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TheresaB
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Re: STATINs

Post by TheresaB »

I assume she is a 4. We do tend to run high cholesterol numbers, I know my total cholesterol (TC) and LDL numbers have always run high. I refused to go on statins when my doctor suggested it, and that was before I learned of my 4 status. I am so glad my instinct told me to do so. My diet is similar to your wife. My TC and LDL-C have remained about the same even after changing to my current diet.

I'm not convinced my elevated total and LDL cholesterol numbers are necessarily a bad thing, my HDL, triglycerides, and sdLDL are typically good, although I do struggle with oxLDL at times.

Cholesterol is important for healthy cognition. Since the ApoE4 transports less cholesterol to the brain than ApoE3 or ApoE2, perhaps ϵ4 carriers simply have more cholesterol to compensate for this. I personally think Total cholesterol is a worthless, meaningless measure, and that LDL cholesterol, which at best is a proxy measure, not a direct measure, hasn't been found, to my knowledge, to be a major contributor to cardiovascular disease. There are better measures. For example, my CAC scan provided me with a direct measure of atherosclerotic risk.

I assume you've already read the The Primer with its intro to lipids. Now you may wish to read the wiki on Cholesterol, Lipids and Treatments, including statins
-Theresa
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floramaria
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Re: STATINs

Post by floramaria »

PhilD wrote:My wife who has Alzheimer, also has high cholesterol ( around 7) , yet she hardly eats meat and only takes good fats ( Olive oil), fish oil , avocado ) etc... she also does quite a bit of exercise every day. She stays well away from saturated fats and eats mainly salads , vegetables and fish . Also lots of blueberries. Some research says it's all about the size of the particles and that the brain needs cholesterol and recommend against taking satins ..... I have also read some research suggesting that satins do more harm than good. Any advice ? I am totally confused
Hi PhilD, I agree with TheresaB’s statements above; like her, I tend to think that total High cholesterol And LDL are not necessarily bad.
The idea of cholesterol lowering drugs in the absence of any proof that there is a cardiovascular problem, for example, by checking CAC, just doesn’t make sense to me. Because my own cholesterol numbers are high, My doctor suggested statins. Instead, I asked her to order a CAC scan, which she has done. ( I have not been able to schedule the scan yet because of COVID-19.). Maybe a CAC scan to assess her cardiovascular risk is something that could be considered for your wife, rather than jumping directly into taking statins.
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PhilD
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Re: STATINs

Post by PhilD »

Thanks you both for your responses . My wife had calcium score of zero (0) early last year . I agree with what you both said and will forget the satin. Thank you . I will go back to the Primer to refresh my memory .
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TheresaB
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Re: STATINs

Post by TheresaB »

TheresaB wrote:I do struggle with oxLDL at times.
I just had the consult with my doctor, he recommended adding 50 mg of pycnogenol and 100 mg of grape seed extract to help with my oxidized LDL.
-Theresa
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Fiver
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Re: STATINs

Post by Fiver »

From my experience I totally agree with the usefulness of the coronary calcium score. I think we'll see this become even more common and accessible in the near future. It was such a relief to get my score. And unusual - how many accurate tests are there we can count on currently?

Just one minor thing to remember, if it is important to your thinking, apoe doesn't transport cholesterol (CHO) to the brain. When made in the liver to carry CHO around our bodies it can't pass the blood-brain-barrier. The brain makes all of its own CHO....and it needs a lot....then it does transport it, using apoe and similar apolipoproteins, but just from one brain cell type to others. They are separate processes.

When the potential benefits of statins vs. AD are discussed it is often as preventing the formation on blockages in the vessels feeding the brain from the outside (e.g. vascular dementia). That seems pretty well established. Or, for statins that get into the brain, by lowering CHO synthesis inside.

Long ago I read everything I could about it. I found several studies showing that in large populations taking a statin might be associated with a slightly, but significantly lower risk. But in each case the change was pretty darn small. Lots of people, including Dr. Bredesen concluded that statins were bad for those at risk of AD. They have MUCH more expertise than I do. And I had the chance to talk with him about it. But I could just never find published evidence showing this. I looked for a long time. It is tricky, of course. How would we know if a statin contributed to AD, or just the underlying dyslipidemia the statin was prescribed for? I keep trying to learn more about it.

Anyway, just what I learned along my journey. I guess, we need to take the advice of a trusted doctor and decide for ourselves.

Happy new year!
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