The effect of simvastatin treatment on the amyloid precursor protein and brain cholesterol metabolism in patients with Alzheimer's disease

During the last years, several clinical studies have been published trying to elucidate the effect of statin treatment on amyloid precursor protein (APP) processing and metabolism of brain cholesterol in Alzheimer's disease (AD) in humans. We present an open biochemical study where 19 patients with AD have been treated with simvastatin (20 mg/day) for 12 months. The aim was to further investigate the effect of simvastatin treatment on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers of APP processing, AD biomarkers as total tau and tau phosphorylated at threonine 181, brain cholesterol metabolism as well as on cognitive decline in patients with AD. Despite biochemical data suggesting that treatment with 20 mg/day of simvastatin for 12 months does affect the brain cholesterol metabolism, we did not find any change in CSF or plasma levels of β-amyloid (Aβ)(1-42). However, by analysis of APP isoforms, we found that statin treatment may favor the nonamyloidogenic pathway of APP processing. The relevance and mechanism between statin treatment and AD has to be further elucidated by using statins of different lipophility in different dosages over a longer period of time. Copyright (C) 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel.