Long-term Administration of Lovastatin and Rivastigmine: An In Vivo Evaluation on Cognitive Functions and Brain Acetylcholinesterase Activity

Abstract

Background. There is not much evidence illustrating that statins could be responsible for memory loss or dementia, although increased exposure to statins has been reported to cause cognitive side effects. The present study investigated the effect of lovastatin in combination with rivastigmine on cognitive function as well as brain acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity in normal mice. Methods. The mice were categorized into four groups, and they were treated with normal saline, lovastatin, rivastigmine, and the combination of lovastatin and rivastigmine, respectively, by oral administration for 60 days. The treatment effect on cognitive functions was assessed by behavioral tests, namely, the passive avoidance test and spontaneous alternation test, as well as the measurement of brain AChE activity by Ellman’s method. Results. In this study, a significant reduction (P < 0.01) of brain AChE activity and positive effects (P < 0.01) on cognitive functions was observed in mice treated with the combination of lovastatin and rivastigmine as compared to rivastigmine alone. However, no significant differences (P < 0.05) were observed on brain AChE activity as well as cognitive functions in mice treated with lovastatin when compared with those treated with normal saline. Conclusion. This study suggested that lovastatin did not contribute to any improvements in cognitive functions and brain AChE activity, but it potentiated the effect of rivastigmine.