Lipitor shows no significant Alzheimer's benefit

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Adding the popular cholesterol drug Lipitor to a commonly used Alzheimer's disease treatment had no overall significant impact on patients with the progressive neurodegenerative condition, Lipitor's maker Pfizer Inc said on Thursday.

During an 18-month clinical trial, patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease taking the highest dose of Lipitor plus Pfizer's Aricept showed no significant differences in cognition or global function -- measures of the disease's progression -- compared with those taking a placebo plus Aricept.

The trial included 640 patients, making it the largest Alzheimer's disease study involving the statin class of cholesterol drugs, Pfizer said. Researchers had hoped that statins could benefit Alzheimer's disease patients.

Results were presented at the American Academy of Neurology meeting.

(Reporting by Lewis Krauskopf, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)