Atorvastatin (Lipitor) and other statins such as simvastatin and rosuvastatin may sometimes trigger a reaction called transient global amnesia. This is a sudden loss of memory that may last a few hours or occasionally as long as a day. Many readers of this column have reported similar reactions. One man was put on Crestor in an effort to get his LDL cholesterol below 80: "I started taking the drug on Friday, and on Sunday I awoke with what was diagnosed as transient global amnesia. I played golf that morning and kept asking the same questions over and over. My golfing partners and my wife decided after nine holes that I should go to the hospital. This all started at 7 a.m., and I did not get any short-term memory back until 3 p.m." Anyone who would like to learn more about the impact of statins on memory may be interested in our one-hour radio interview No. 523, "The Dark Side of Statins." It is available at peoplespharmacy.com. Doctors must rule out more common causes of sudden memory loss, such as a stroke or a seizure. Although there is controversy about whether statins can cause TGA, we have received so many reports that we think there is a connection.
0 comments:
Post a Comment