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List-Family... I see the following as possibly impacting some of our members Barb Mallut [log in to unmask] ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cholesterol Drug May Impair Brain Function ORLANDO, Fla (Reuters) -- A commonly prescribed drug for lowering blood cholesterol may affect people's ability to drive or perform other everyday tasks, researchers said Monday. They said lovastatin, sold by Merck and Co. under the name Mevacor and also as mevinolin, could affect attention and reaction speed. Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh told a meeting of the American Heart Association (AHA) in Orlando, Florida, that patients whose cholesterol had been lowered with lovastatin paid less attention and had delayed psychomotor reflexes. But AHA president-elect Dr. Valentin Fuster downplayed the study as "very, very borderline" in terms of statistical significance. "It's hard for me to believe that the use of a statin in this particular case, at a very low dose, can affect their cognitive function," Fuster told Reuters. Dr. Matthew Muldoon and colleagues studied a group of 194 healthy adults, aged 25 to 60, who had high levels of low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, the so-called bad cholesterol. After six months, cholesterol levels fell among both those who received lovastatin and those patients who were given a placebo. The researchers said patients who had been given lovastatin showed decreased attention and psychomotor speed, compared with those who had not received the drug. Those who had the greatest decreases in cholesterol levels suffered the greatest impairment. The drug already carries labeling that warns of possible drowsiness as well as a variety of side effects, including constipation, blurred vision, and nausea. "Cholesterol lowering might have adverse effects on performance of tasks requiring sustained attention and psychomotor speed," the researchers said. "Whether such treatment effects alter performance on tasks encountered in everyday life, such as automobile driving, remains to be determined." Fuster said earlier studies involving thousands of patients taking anti-cholesterol drugs had found no obvious impairment of behavior. He also said he would be "very cautious" in drawing conclusions from a six-month study of lovastatin use. Merck was not immediately available for comment.