Simvastatin Promotes Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis by Enhancing Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling

This was already researched and written about in March, 2011.
Acute statin therapy improves survival after ischemic stroke
How many times do researchers have to prove almost exactly the same thing before someone notices and decides to put it into a stroke protocol? What the hell is the downside from having every survivor get statins immediately? Its not a new drug, its even being used for the correct purpose. We have complete idiots not in charge of anything in the stroke world. Are they smarter than a fifth grader? No, but they are dumber than a box of rocks.
http://www.cell.com/stem-cell-reports/retrieve/pii/S2213671113001276?

Stem Cell Reports, 26 December 2013
Copyright © 2014 The Authors
10.1016/j.stemcr.2013.11.002
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works License, which permits non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Authors

Nicholas C. Robin, Zsuzsa Agoston, Travis L. Biechele, Richard G. James, Jason D. Berndt, Randall T. MoonSee Affiliations

• Highlights
• Simvastatin enhances Wnt signaling in adult neural progenitor cells
• Simvastatin promotes neuronal differentiation via enhanced Wnt signaling
• Simvastatin concurrently enhances adult hippocampal neurogenesis
• The effect of simvastatin on Wnt is through inhibited prenylation

Summary

Statins improve recovery from traumatic brain injury and show promise in preventing Alzheimer disease. However, the mechanisms by which statins may be therapeutic for neurological conditions are not fully understood. In this study, we present the initial evidence that oral administration of simvastatin in mice enhances Wnt signaling in vivo. Concomitantly, simvastatin enhances neurogenesis in cultured adult neural progenitor cells as well as in the dentate gyrus of adult mice. Finally, we find that statins enhance Wnt signaling through regulation of isoprenoid synthesis and not through cholesterol. These findings provide direct evidence that Wnt signaling is enhanced in vivo by simvastatin and that this elevation of Wnt signaling is required for the neurogenic effects of simvastatin. Collectively, these data add to the growing body of evidence that statins may have therapeutic value for treating certain neurological disorders.