Several weeks ago, a grieving middle-aged relative became severely depressed and stopped eating. he has been on a statin drug to reduce his cholesterol level for several years. however, now he eats almost nothing. he continues on anti-depressants that don't seem to be effective. I've seen posts on the Internet about secondary neurological side effects of statin drugs (that match nearly every one of his symptoms) and worry that he does not have sufficient cholesterol for proper brain function. The few medical people I talked to seem to be unaware of these side effects. They say side effects would have occurred earlier if this were the cause.

He appears to be unable to do the simplest tasks and appears to have dementia, although that remains undiagnosed. His sister insists that physicians keep him on this drug.

Is something terribly wrong with this picture? Should patients be given statins if they are not eating?

yes, it can cause dementia and also other neurological effects.

One Danish study in 2002 suggested a relation between long term statin use and increased risk of nerve damage or polyneuropathy but suggested this side effect is "rare, but it does occur"; other researchers have pointed to studies of the effectiveness of statins in trials involving 50,000 people which have not shown nerve damage as a significant side effect.