We observed that simvastatin was also associated with a reduced incidence of PD in all models, with the data for model 3 correspond ing to a HR of 0. 51. Statistical parameters describing the num bers of cases and censoring are shown in Table 5. http://www.selleckchem.com/products/U0126.html The mean time to incident PD was similar for each of the groups, except for the atorvastatin group, which exhibited a smaller time to censoring. Discussion We previously reported that statins are associated with a reduced prevalence of dementia. Subsequent studies on this subject produced mixed results. We hypothesized that the ambiguity might arise from differences in efficacy among different statins, variation in responses in the pop ulation Inhibitors,Modulators,Libraries and inadequate sample size to power the studies sufficiently to detect such modifying factors.

To address these issues, we used a very large population database to perform prospective studies examining the effects of Inhibitors,Modulators,Libraries Inhibitors,Modulators,Libraries stat ins on the incidence of dementia. The prospective format used in the current study avoids effects arising from changes in statin use associated with the diagnosis of dementia, and could account any differences observed between our previous study and this one. We found that simvastatin is associated with a reduced incidence of both dementia and PD. Studies using population databases have strengths and weaknesses that must be considered in interpreting results. The large numbers of subjects provides enormous power for analyses Inhibitors,Modulators,Libraries and the structure of the databases allows for prospective studies of incidence.

The strong sta tistical power associated with the large number of subjects also enables detailed Inhibitors,Modulators,Libraries subcategorization of the cohorts, which can provide novel insights. For instance, the ability to subdivide statin users by each statin allowed us to examine the effects of three different statins atorvastatin, lovastatin and simvastatin. The ability to track subjects over a period of time allowed us to examine incident dementia cases, which represents a significant difference from our previous study on statins, which examined prev alent cases. The focus on incident cases in the current study avoided problems associated with some of the biases that can occur in studies of prevalence, and could explain the differences observed between the two studies. In addition, the covariates provide some adjustment for confounding by indication.

The nature of the prospective study, however, is quite dif ferent from that in a randomized clinical trial. Subjects on medications in population databases necessarily have comorbid FTY720 supplier illnesses, whereas random clinical trials can control the type or degree of comorbid illness or even exclude subjects with comorbid illnesses. Assessing the nature of the sample and the comparators correctly becomes a very important issue in studies examining pop ulation databases. We used two comparators, a CV com parator and warfarin.