Statins help elderly as well as young after stroke

Elderly people who've suffered a recent stroke benefit almost as much from treatment with a "statin" drug as do younger stroke patients, researchers report in the medical journal Neurology. The cholesterol-lowering statins reduce the risk of heart disease. A study called SPARCL (for Stroke Prevention by Aggressive Reduction in Cholesterol Levels) was performed to see if statins also reduced stroke risk. The study compared the risks and benefits of taking high-dose atorvastatin (brand name Lipitor) versus an inactive placebo for patients who had recently had a stroke or a so-called TIA, or transient ischemic attack. TIAs are sometimes called mini-strokes, but experts say the condition is far from trivial. - Reuters

Non-LDL statin effects credited with improving stroke functional outcomes

Among patients presenting to the emergency department with ischemic stroke in a prospective cohort study, those with LDL cholesterol in the normal range thanks to statin therapy were later discharged in a significantly better functional state than those who had normal baseline LDL-C levels without the help of statins. The findings, which were independent of patient age, sex, and stroke severity, are consistent with observational evidence that stroke outcomes are improved in patients already on statins. But they go a step further by suggesting that at least some of those benefits are due to non-LDL-lowering effects of the drugs, according to the authors, led by Dr Latha G Stead (University of Rochester Medical Center, NY). Their report appears in the March-April 2009 issue of the Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases.

What's the evidence for statins?

"Many studies show that statins can help prevent heart attacks in people with coronary artery disease. Most people get unstable angina because of this disease. Studies also show they can lower the risk of stroke. However, not many studies have looked specifically at taking statins soon after an attack of unstable angina. We found one study with more than 3,000 people who were in hospital because of a mild heart attack or unstable angina. Some started taking a statin and others took a dummy treatment (a placebo). After 16 weeks, those who were taking the statin were less likely to have made another emergency trip to hospital for a similar heart problem" - Guardian/BMJ