A lawyer contacted Beatrice Golomb, a physician at the VA San Diego Medical Center, because he could no longer follow a normal conversation with his clients. A radiologist told Golomb that he found himself suddenly unable to distinguish left from right.
Both developed memory problems after taking a cholesterol-lowering statin drug, and the symptoms improved after they stopped the medication.The statin revolution began in 1987, when lovastatin was approved by the FDA. Since then, this class of drugs has transformed cardiac medicine, says Allen Taylor, chief of cardiology at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.But these drugs are not without risks. Golomb has amassed thousands of reports at her website, www.statineffects.com, detailing adverse reactions. She says cognitive problems are the second-most-common side effect reported in her database, after muscle pain.The idea that a cholesterol-lowering drug could make your brain fuzzy might sound crazy, and Golomb says it was greeted with suspicion. But eventually the FDA received enough reports that it ordered drug companies to add a warning label about possible memory problems. Many doctors believe the problem is fairly rare.(Statin makers AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Merck declined to comment for this article.)Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
