Statins and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective: To evaluate the association between statins and the incidence and progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Methods: Several electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, and EBSCO) and Chinese databases (CBM, Wanfang, and VIP) were searched for original articles on April 1st, 2012. Case-control and cohort studies that provide information on the association between statins and ALS were considered eligible for inclusion. A systematic review was conducted to evaluate the association of statins and the incidence and progression of ALS. Results: Two case-control studies and one cohort study that relate the risk of ALS to statins satisfied the inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis. The pooled rate ratio of statin use was 0.89 [95% CI, 0.55 to 1.42] for ALS patients versus non-ALS patients. Three cohort studies on the association between statins and the progression of ALS were identified; these suggested that no strong evidence for the statin-ALS progression relationship exists. No cohort studies favor the use of statins on ALS patients. Conclusions: No definite association between statin use and ALS incidence and progression has been found. Existing results are currently inconclusive to make scientifically supported conclusions. Further prospective cohort studies are still needed.