Lipitor belly & statin memory loss - a partial explanation?

Sharon Hope · medicine forum Guru Joined: 30 Apr 2005 Posts: 752

Many people complain of "Lipitor Belly" - an odd distribution of fat when
taking statins. When I noticed this study on Pub Med, I intended to post
just on that topic, but then read Zee's recent post on the link between
Leptin and memory.

This links the low leptin with the statins (another piece to the
statin-induced memory loss puzzle?):

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=16014304&query_hl=10
Atorvastatin reduces serum leptin concentration in hypercholesterolemic
rabbits.
Clin Chim Acta. 2005 Jul 11; [Epub ahead of print]

Zhao SP, Wu ZH.

Department of Cardiology, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South
University, middle Ren-Min road No.86, Changsha, Hunan 410011, PR China.

BACKGROUND: Leptin may play an important role in the development of
atherosclerosis. We evaluated the effect of atorvastatin on leptin secretion
in vivo and in vitro. METHODS: Sixteen rabbits fed with high-cholesterol
diet for 8 weeks were randomly divided into 2 groups: (1) high cholesterol
diet for 6 weeks (n= Cool

, and (2) the same cholesterol diet plus atorvastatin
(2.5 mg/kg/day) for 6 weeks (n= Cool

. A control group (n=5) was fed with normal
diet for 14 weeks. Subcutaneous adipose was collected for RNA analysis. The
direct effect of atorvastatin on leptin release was assayed in primary
rabbit adipocytes. Leptin levels in serum and adipocytes culture supernatant
were measured by ELISA. RT-PCR was used to evaluate leptin mRNA expressions
in adipose and adipocytes. RESULTS: Compared with control group, rabbits fed
with high cholesterol diet showed higher levels of serum total cholesterol,
LDL cholesterol and leptin, all of which were significantly reduced by
atorvastatin treatment. Leptin mRNA expression of adipose was significant
lower in rabbits treated with atorvastatin than those fed with high
cholesterol diet continuously (0.81+/-0.31 vs. 1.23+/-0.36, P<0.05).
Atorvastatin dose-dependently inhibited leptin secretion and mRNA expression
in cultured adipocytes. CONCLUSION: Atorvastatin can inhibit leptin release
and mRNA expression, and reduces serum leptin level in hypercholesterolemic
rabbits.

PMID: 16014304 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Yeah, I realize it is in rabbits, not people, but that is the next logical
study. Also, the first statin, Mevacor, was researched in rabbits first.

cas · medicine forum beginner Joined: 18 Jun 2005 Posts: 16

"Sharon Hope" <shope@anet.net> wrote in message
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Sharon Hope · medicine forum Guru Joined: 30 Apr 2005 Posts: 752

You are not alone. This has been a topic of discussion among Lipitor users
for years.

Haven't found any PubMed journal articles on it yet, but since statins do
affect the way the body handles lipids, it is no great leap to relate the
two.

I know what you mean, about the hump, some people describe it as a big spare
tire, others say it looks like a shelf.

"cas" <casquets@tesco.net> wrote in message
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