{"id":72848,"date":"2022-02-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-02-08T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2022\/02\/08\/unmc-evaluating-if-heart-drug-can-prevent-dementia\/"},"modified":"2022-08-29T14:20:44","modified_gmt":"2022-08-29T19:20:44","slug":"unmc-evaluating-if-heart-drug-can-prevent-dementia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2022\/02\/08\/unmc-evaluating-if-heart-drug-can-prevent-dementia\/","title":{"rendered":"UNMC evaluating if heart drug can prevent dementia"},"content":{"rendered":"

UNMC is one of 100 institutions nationwide studying if statins – a commonly used drug to prevent heart attack and stroke – can prevent dementia.<\/p>\n

Statins protect blood vessels and reduce inflammation throughout the body. It is estimated that one-third of individuals over the age of 75 currently take statins.<\/p>\n

The purpose of the five-year PREVENTABLE study – which stands for Pragmatic Evaluation of Events and Benefits of Lipid-lowering in Older Adults – is to learn if taking a statin can help prevent dementia and maintain health.<\/p>\n

Led by Alfred Fisher, MD, chief of the UNMC Division of Geriatrics, Gerontology and Palliative Medicine, the study is open to Nebraska Medicine primary care patients, including patients at the Grand Island Health Center and Bellevue Health Center clinics. Additionally, the Omaha Veterans Affairs Medical Center is a site, and the study is open to VA Nebraska-Western Iowa patients.<\/p>\n

Dr. Fisher said the researchers are studying statins because the risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease and dementia overlap with the risk factors for developing heart disease and stroke.<\/p>\n

“Dementia affects many older adults and their families in the United States,” said Dr. Fisher, study principal investigator and Neumann M. and Mildred E. Harris Professor of Geriatrics.<\/p>\n

“We are asking if the medication prevents heart disease and stroke and also will it delay or prevent dementia? Currently we don’t have any cures for dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, and prevention would be important in the absence of treatment.”<\/p>\n

Atorvastatin, also called Lipitor, is the study drug in PREVENTABLE. Researchers will be recruiting study participants through 2024. The study receives funding from the National Institute on Aging (NIA)<\/a> and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Those who may qualify include adults age 75 or older who are not taking a statin or have not taken statins for more than five years in their lifetime and do not have heart disease or had a heart attack, dementia or a significant disability.<\/p>\n

Participants can join the study either in person or at home by phone and get the study drug by mail. Researchers would conduct visits about once a year by phone and by reviewing health records.<\/p>\n

Dr. Fisher said most patients are more frightened of developing dementia than anything else.<\/p>\n

“It threatens their identity and independence,” Dr. Fisher said. “It’s exciting to bring these studies to older adults. A lot of time older adults are not included in clinical studies. It’s a unique way to engage them in research and have clinical trials that look more like real life clinical practice.”<\/p>\n

For more information, email Sarah Kirke<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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