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Does Zetia (ezetimibe) cause memory loss?

Medically reviewed by Leigh Ann Anderson, PharmD. Last updated on Feb 18, 2025.

Official Answer by Drugs.com

Memory loss is not a side effect of Zetia (ezetimibe) when it is used alone to treat high cholesterol. Zetia is often used with other cholesterol lowering medications like statins which have been linked with cognitive impairment (memory loss, forgetfulness, or confusion).

Ezetimibe, the active ingredient in Zetia, is also found in combination products with a statin:

One case report described a patient with memory loss possibly related to simvastatin (Zocor) use. Gradual memory loss developed following 12 months of simvastatin therapy.

Ezetimibe is also used in combination with the non-statins bempedoic acid (brand name: Nexlizet) or fenofibrate to treat high cholesterol. However, these products have not been reported to cause memory loss in their product labels.

There have been other reports of cognitive impairment like forgetfulness, amnesia, memory impairment, and confusion associated with statin use. These cognitive issues have been reported for all statins.

Related questions

Do statins cause long-term memory loss?

Memory loss with statins does not appear to be a serious side effect and reverses when the statin is discontinued. Memory loss can occur within days to years of starting statin therapy, but generally reverses within 3 weeks (median time) after the medicine is stopped.

If you are having trouble with memory, forgetfulness, confusion, or other cognitive symptoms, contact your healthcare provider for further advice.

This is not all the information you need to know about Zetia (ezetimibe) for safe and effective use and does not take the place of your doctor’s directions. Review the full Zetia information and discuss this information and any questions you have with your doctor or other health care provider.

References

Read next

Is Zetia a statin drug/medication?

No, Zetia is not a statin drug. Zetia reduces blood cholesterol in a different way to statin medications. Zetia lowers cholesterol levels by decreasing the amount of cholesterol that is absorbed from the small intestine, so that there is less intestinal cholesterol delivered to the liver. Continue reading

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