Archief Roodbont

Reuters Health Information 2008. © 2008 Reuters Ltd.
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By David Douglas

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) May 16 - There are indications of an association between use of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, ie, statins, and a reduced likelihood of Parkinson's disease, according to California-based researchers.

"Although our study findings suggest the very interesting possibility that statins may protect against Parkinson's disease," lead investigator Dr. Angelika D. Wahner told Reuters Health, "these findings are preliminary and must be confirmed by additional, well-designed studies."

For their study, Dr. Wahner of the UCLA School of Public Health, Los Angeles and colleagues recruited 312 patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease and 342 controls. All were residents of three California counties and had a median age of about 70 years.

As reported in the April 15th issue of Neurology, 18.7% had taken statins at some point, and overall, there was a higher frequency of statin use in controls than in cases (odds ratio, 0.45).

There was a strong dose-response relationship and the greatest protection was found in participants who had taken statins for 5 years or more (odds ratio, 0.37).

The team found a risk reduction of 60% to 70% with atorvastatin, simvastatin and lovastatin, but not pravastatin. The odds ratio associated with use of this agent was 1.78. A possible explanation, they suggest, "might be postulated differences in statins' lipophilic properties."

"Further inquiry," continued Dr. Wahner, "into whether and why statins may play a protective role in Parkinson's disease is particularly important as our aging population increasingly suffers the burden of Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative diseases."

"Nevertheless," she concluded, "it is too early for clinicians to make recommendations based on our findings."

Neurology 2008;70:1418-1422.