Clinical trial efforts in Alzheimer disease

The need for better treatments for Alzheimer disease (AD) is more urgent than ever.1 In the last couple of decades, AD researchers have examined the potential value of existing drugs as treatments for AD. Among these are statins, which were first discovered in the 1970s. These drugs, primarily indicated for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia and prevention of cardiovascular disease, are among the most widely prescribed drugs in the United States today. According to a recent report by the National Center for Health Statistics, antihyperlipidemic drugs, including statins, are the second most commonly mentioned group of drugs during medical office visits, and atorvastatin specifically was the second most commonly mentioned individual drug overall (after aspirin).2 Prior data have suggested that hypercholesterolemia may contribute to AD and that statins may provide a potential benefit; other statin mechanisms of action may also be important. The result has been a large body of observational work on statins and AD. Preclinical studies have shown promise, yet results from clinical observational studies and the little data available from small clinical trials3 have yielded mixed findings. In this issue of Neurology ®, Feldman et al.4 evaluate the efficacy and safety of atorvastatin in …