Statin Treatment Improves Spatial Memory In Mouse Models Of Alzheimer's

Treatment with Simvastatin, one of the statin drugs widely used for lowering cholesterol in humans, significantly improved spatial memory in mice genetically bred to have an Alzheimer's like disease. In addition various studies have found evidence of a strong relationship between memory deficits and high levels of cholesterol in the brain, suggesting that statin's effects on memory might be due to a reduction in cholesterol biosynthesis. Researchers Florida A&M University found that nNOS (neuronal nitric oxide synthase) levels were significantly higher in the hippocampus and cortex of statin treated groups as compared to similar mice that did not receive statin. Furthermore, the levels of nNOS proteins were statistically higher in the hippocampus of the statin treated animals than in the cortex. nNOS is responsible for the release of nitric oxide, a substance that causes dilation of the blood vessels in the brain, which eventually will increase blood flow and improve circulation to the memory region of the brain. These findings suggest that increases in brain nNos levels may play an important role in statin-induced improvement of spatial reference memory.
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