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Article: Statin therapy goes beyond lowering cholesterol: the anti-inflammatory benefits of statin therapy also seem to help prevent dementia and slow lung function decline.(PREVENTION)
- Article from:
- Healthy Years
- Article date:
- February 1, 2008
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Belvoir Media Group, LLC. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Considering that they were developed simply to lower cholesterol, statins are emerging as effective treatments for a variety of conditions.
For example, they may help prevent the formation of nerve cell "tangles" in the brain that lead to Alzheimer's disease, according to a study in the August issue of Neurology. Statins also appear to slow lung function decline in the elderly, even among smokers, according to a study in the October issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
Though it remains unclear exactly how statins can have such wide-ranging effects, the link between high cholesterol and heart disease is ...