TY - JOUR TI - Statin treatment and cerebral microbleeds: A systematic review and meta-analysis AU - Katsanos, A.H. AU - Lioutas, V.-A. AU - Charidimou, A. AU - Catanese, L. AU - Ng, K.K.H. AU - Perera, K. AU - de Sa Boasquevisque, D. AU - Falcone, G.J. AU - Sheth, K.N. AU - Romero, J.R. AU - Tsivgoulis, G. AU - Smith, E.E. AU - Sharma, M. AU - Selim, M.H. AU - Shoamanesh, A. AU - the International META-MICROBLEEDS Initiative JO - Journal of the Neurological Sciences PY - 2021 VL - 420 TODO - null SP - null PB - Elsevier B.V. SN - 0022-510X TODO - 10.1016/j.jns.2020.117224 TODO - anticoagulant agent; hydroxymethylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitor; rosuvastatin, adult; aged; Article; brain hemorrhage; brain ischemia; coronary artery disease; diabetes mellitus; dyslipidemia; female; human; hypertension; male; meta analysis; middle aged; neuroimaging; nuclear magnetic resonance imaging; prevalence; priority journal; randomized controlled trial (topic); susceptibility weighted imaging; systematic review; transient ischemic attack; vascular amyloidosis; white matter; brain hemorrhage; cerebrovascular accident; complication; cross-sectional study; diagnostic imaging, Cerebral Hemorrhage; Cross-Sectional Studies; Humans; Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Stroke TODO - Although statins have been associated with increased risk of spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage, their relationship with cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) formation is poorly understood. We systematically reviewed previously published studies reporting on the association between CMBs presence and current statin use. We performed a systematic search in MEDLINE and SCOPUS databases on October 24, 2019 to identify all cohorts from randomized-controlled clinical trials or observational studies reporting on CMB prevalence and statin use. We extracted cross-sectional data on CMBs presence, as provided by each study, in association to the history of current statin use. Random effects model was used to calculate the pooled estimates. We included 7 studies (n = 3734 participants): unselected general population [n = 1965], ischemic stroke [n = 849], hemorrhagic stroke [n = 252] and patients with hypertension over the age of 60 [n = 668]. Statin use was not associated with CMBs presence in either unadjusted (OR = 1.15, 95%CI: 0.76–1.74) or adjusted analyses (OR = 1.09, 95%CI: 0.64–1.86). Statin use was more strongly related to lobar CMB presence (OR = 2.01, 95%CI: 1.48–2.72) in unadjusted analysis. The effect size of this association was consistent, but no longer statistically significant in adjusted analysis that was confined to two eligible studies (OR = 2.26, 95%CI: 0.86–5.91). Except for the analysis on the unadjusted probability of lobar CMBs presence, considerable heterogeneity was present in all other analyses (I2 > 60%). Our findings suggest that statin treatment seems not to be associated with CMBs overall, but may increase the risk of lobar CMB formation. This hypothesis deserves further investigation within magnetic resonance imaging ancillary studies of randomized trials. © 2020 Elsevier B.V. ER -