Statins are cholesterol lowering medications that have been proven to significantly reduce the risk of heart disease. Included in the side effects associated with statins is memory loss and amnesia.

Statins are sold under a variety of names including Lipitor (atorvastatin), Zocor (simvastatin), Mevacor (lovastatin) and Pravachol (pravastatin). They work by inhibiting the formation of the enzyme HMG-CoA reductase, thus derailing cholesterol production. But statins do more than inhibting HMG-CoA reductase. They also inhibit a whole family of intermediary substances, many if not all of which have important biochemical functions in their own right.

Cases of memory deterioration associated with the use of statin drugs have appeared with some frequency in the medical literature. Some sufferers have experienced complete loss of memory which occurs suddenly and then disappears just as fast. Memory loss has also shown up in several statin trials. In a trial involving 2502 subjects, amnesia occurred in 7 receiving Lipitor; amnesia also occurred in 2 of 742 subjects during comparative trials with other statins. In addition, "abnormal thinking" was reported in 4 of the 2502 clinical trial subjects.

(Jick, H, Zornberg GL, Jick SS, Seshadri S, Drachman DA. Statins and the risk of dementia. Lancet 2000:356:1627-31).