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I have just completed a survey of Medwatch adverse reports for
Lipitor for the period 1998 to 2007. There were 517 reports of
depression, 85 reports of suicidal ideation, 85 reports of irritability,
24 of aggressiveness, 16 of paranoia and 11 of hostility associated with
Lipitor use during this time interval. Insofar as cognitive factors are
related to emotional and behavioral problems, 399 case reports of amnesia
and 263 reports of memory loss associated with Lipitor use were also
noted.
Since most would estimate reported cases to be only 1 to 10%, actual
cases of depression for this one statin have a likely range of 51,700 to
5170 cases. Suicidal ideation would approximate 8500 to 850 cases.
In my judgment the primary contributor to emotional and behavioral
side effects from statins is their inevitable inhibition of dolichols with
secondary dysfunction of glycoprotein synthesis, including our
neuropetides (the molecules of emotion.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests:
No competing interests
21 March 2008
Duane E. Graveline MD MPH
retired MD, author Lipitor, Thief of Memory and Statin Drugs Side Effects
Medwatch data relevant to statins and depression
I have just completed a survey of Medwatch adverse reports for
Lipitor for the period 1998 to 2007. There were 517 reports of
depression, 85 reports of suicidal ideation, 85 reports of irritability,
24 of aggressiveness, 16 of paranoia and 11 of hostility associated with
Lipitor use during this time interval. Insofar as cognitive factors are
related to emotional and behavioral problems, 399 case reports of amnesia
and 263 reports of memory loss associated with Lipitor use were also
noted.
Since most would estimate reported cases to be only 1 to 10%, actual
cases of depression for this one statin have a likely range of 51,700 to
5170 cases. Suicidal ideation would approximate 8500 to 850 cases.
In my judgment the primary contributor to emotional and behavioral
side effects from statins is their inevitable inhibition of dolichols with
secondary dysfunction of glycoprotein synthesis, including our
neuropetides (the molecules of emotion.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests