Statins associated with increased bleeding in the brain in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage

This study was published in Stroke 2012 Jul 24

Study title and authors:

Statin Use and Microbleeds in Patients With Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage.

Haussen DC, Henninger N, Kumar S, Selim M.

From the Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA.

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22829545

Microbleeds (or microhaemorrhages) are pinpoint drops of blood that leak from blood vessels in the brain and increase may increase the risk of stroke and cognitive dysfunction.

The cortico-subcortical region of the brain is the outer layers and the area beneath the outer layers.

The study investigated the effects that statin use had on microbleeds in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage. The study included 163 patients with intracerebral hemorrhage.

The study found:
(a) Statin users had significantly lower cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels compared to non users.
(b) Statins users had a 172% increase in microbleeds compared to non users.
(c) Statins users had a 315% increase in cortico-subcortical microbleeds compared to non users.

The study shows that statin use is associated with increased bleeding in the brain in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage.