UF Health, OneFlorida Join Trial To See if Statins Can Help Older Adults Prevent Heart Disease, Dementia
Can taking a statin a day keep heart disease and dementia away in seniors ages 75 and older?
Researchers at University of Florida Health and the OneFlorida Clinical Research Consortium have joined a nationwide clinical trial to find out whether taking atorvastatin (Lipitor®), a drug commonly used to lower cholesterol, can help prevent dementia, disability and heart disease in older adults who haven’t already been diagnosed with those ailments.
The study, expected to become one of the largest clinical trials ever conducted in older adults, will include more than 20,000 participants and 100 sites across the U.S., including UF Health and several other OneFlorida Clinical Research Consortium partner sites.
Recent studies suggest statins may continue to protect the heart and vascular system even after age 75. Preliminary evidence also suggests statins may protect against Alzheimer’s disease and contribute to overall well-being in adults ages 75 and older.
“There’s so much we don’t know about the benefits versus risks of using statins in older people,” said Marco Pahor, M.D., director of UF’s Institute on Aging and UF Health site principal investigator for the PREVENTABLE trial. “The long-term effects of statins on skeletal muscle and the brain are not well documented. PREVENTABLE is designed to address these important questions.”
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