FDA mandates new safety warnings for statin drug: risks of memory loss, diabetes and muscle pain

FDA mandates new safety warnings for statin drug: risks of memory loss, diabetes and muscle pain

by Tony Isaacs

(The Best Years in Life) Federal health officials added new safety alerts to the prescribing information for statin drugs earlier this year, citing increased risks of memory loss, diabetes and muscle pain. It is the first time the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has officially linked statins to cognitive problems like forgetfulness and confusion, though such problems have been reported for several years.

Statin drugs, which are widely known as cholesterol-lowering medications, are among the most widely prescribed drugs in the world with annual sales of tens of billions of dollars. In the United States alone, almost 32 million people regularly take statins. Despite the new warnings and several studies linking statins to increased incidences of a wide variety of health problems, FDA officials and some mainstream medical professionals said the new warnings should not scare people away from statins.


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