Cholesterol-lowering statin drugs may affect brain functioning, such as memory and cognitive skills.
While doctors believe that high cholesterol can be bad for heart health, it is vital for good brain functioning, and the statin drugs reduce the amount of cholesterol so dramatically that it affects the brain.
Biophysics professor Yeon-Kyun Shin at the Iowa State University has measured the functioning of the brain with and without cholesterol, and discovered that a lack of cholesterol impairs the brain’s thinking ability and memory.
However, having too much cholesterol doesn’t make you smarter, he adds.
(Source: Iowa State University. http://www.public.iastate.edu/~nscentral/news/2009/feb/shin.shtml)