Harvard Health Content API

U.S. labels for statin drugs now will list warnings about two new possible side effects. Some people taking statins have had a temporary loss of short-term memory. Some people have shown a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The new labels will mention these potential risks. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued the changes February 28. Statins include drugs such as atorvastatin (Lipitor), simvastatin (Zocor) and rosuvastatin (Crestor). They are used to lower LDL cholesterol and to help prevent heart attacks. The FDA says the memory problems have not been serious and went away when people stopped taking statins. Recent research has found that the increased risk of diabetes is small but real for people taking higher doses of statins. The new labels also will drop previous advice to have people taking statins get regular blood tests for liver enzymes.

The brains of people with migraines look a bit different than other brains, a review of research concludes. The review looked at 19 studies. All of them examined people’s brains using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The images showed that people who have migraines are more likely than others to have changes in the brain’s white matter. These areas help to carry signals within the brain. People with migraines also had more areas in the brain that looked like previous strokes. Researchers said they don’t know why changes in white matter are more common in people with migraines. They don’t know if migraines caused the changes, or if the changes caused the migraines. Or something else could have caused both. They said they have no evidence that the changes affect people’s health.