Transient global amnesia associated with statin intake

This paper was published in the British Medical Journal Case Reports 2009;2009. pii: bcr06.2008.0033

Study title and authors:

Transient global amnesia associated with statin intake.

Healy D, Morgan R, Chinnaswamy S.

Cardiff University, Psychological Medicine, Hergest Unit, Bangor, LL57 2PW, U K.

This paper can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21686951

A 57-year-old man treated with statins developed a range of amnestic features that led to concerns he might be suicidal; however, he did not appear to have depression. His problems began after starting rosuvastatin and cleared on discontinuation.

The 57-year-old man mentioned above is only one case. To see more evidence of the relationship between statins and transient global amnesia visit the spacedoc website which is run by a retired family doctor Duane Graveline MD MPH.

In his career Dr Graveline was also a USAF Flight Surgeon and a NASA Astronaut.

Dr Graveline suffered from episodes of transient global amnesia after starting statin therapy. Read about his experience and the experiences of many others here.