Featured Article Statins and brain integrity in older adults: Secondary analysis of the Health ABC study

Introduction: Weexaminedwhetherstatins areassociated withbettercerebralwhite(WM)andgray matter (GM) indices in community-dwelling elders. Methods: In295 olderadults, wecompared whitematter hyperintensities(WMH) onbrainmagnetic resonanceimagingand,totalWMfractionalanisotropy(FA)andGMmeandiffusivity(MD)ondiffusion tensor imaging, of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) relevant regions in statin-exposed and statinunexposed participants stratified by Modified Mini-Mental Status Examination (3MS) score. Results: Therewas no overall effect of statin exposure on cerebral structural indices. The interaction between statin exposure and 3MS was significant for total-WMH and WM FA (both P ,.05) but not GM MD. In the lowest 3MS tertile (mean: 86), statin-exposed individuals had lower total-WMH and higher WM FA (P 5 .005 and P 5 .044) and FA of tracts linked to clinical AD (P-value range5 .005–.04) despite statistical adjustments. These differences were not significant in the two higher 3MS tertiles. Discussion: Statins may benefit WM in older adults vulnerable to dementia. 2015 The Alzheimer’s Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.