Treatment with a cholesterol-lowering drug might protect against Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study from The Netherlands.

Researchers at the University of Groningen theorized that the cholesterol drug lovastatin, a first-generation member of the class of drugs called statins used for treatment of high cholesterol, might ward off cell death.

Scientists have long known that nerve cells in people with Alzheimer’s die prematurely because they are strongly overstimulated, a process called excitotoxicity, HealthScout reports.

Animal experiments were conducted in which lovastatin was administered to overstimulated nerve cells. It prevented cell death and also blocked the loss of memory that accompanies excitotoxicity, according to researchers.