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Statin drug Rosuvastatin (brand name: Crestor), commonly prescribed for patients with high cholesterol, may prove effective in the treatment of prostate cancer, according to a new study led by Dr. Xiao-Yan Wen at St. Michael’s Hospital. The drug suppressed the growth of human prostate cancer cells implanted in mice, providing “solid pre-clinical evidence and a strong rationale for clinical trials of statins in the treatment of prostate cancer,” Wen said.

An increasing number of studies show that elevated serum cholesterol levels might be part of the cause of Alzheimer’s disease, but a new review of studies says that, even so, the most successful class of cholesterol-lowering medicines will not stave off the condition.

Patients with high cholesterol levels who continually take statins appear to have a lower risk of death over four to five years, regardless of whether they already have diagnosed heart disease, according to a report in the February 9 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.