HIGH CHOLESTEROL: INCREASED RISK OF ALZHEIMER'S
Supplements to counteract the cholesterol
The levels of "good" cholesterol and "bad" are usually associated with heart risks . But according to a new study may also exist connections between the levels of cholesterol and the development of Alzheimer's disease
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"One of the important themes that emerge from research on dementia over the last 15 years is that there are interesting connections between vascular disease and Alzheimer's disease ," said Bruce Reed, who led the research . Reed is an associate professor and director of the University of California Davis Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. "It ' has become increasingly clear that those who have been traditionally conceived of as vascular risk factors - hypertension , diabetes , elevated cholesterol - are also risk factors for Alzheimer's disease ," said Reed.
Reed and his colleagues have found a connection between vascular risk and global levels of brain amyloid . " A drastic decrease of amyloid according to scientists is a key event , which starts a chain of events that result , years later, in dementia of Alzheimer's disease ," said Reed. And according to researchers cholesterol plays an important role in promoting the deposition of amyloid in the brain, " said Reed .
For the new study, published in JAMA Neurology, the researchers examined the cholesterol levels of 74 elderly people who have had a slightly impaired cognitive function . The researchers also measured brain deposits of amyloid beta protein with positron emission tomography ( PET) . They found that , on average , participants who had higher levels of "bad" cholesterol LDL and low levels of "good" cholesterol HDL also had high levels of amyloid in the brain.
" We think this is a very important result , but there is need for the future ," said Reed. "It 's urgent to try to understand the mechanism behind this result "
The blood cholesterol and cholesterol in the brain are separated by means of the blood-brain barrier. E ' need to understand how the levels of cholesterol in the blood and in the brain they affect each other, "said Reed.
"Understanding how to influence levels of cholesterol may reduce the deposition of amyloid . We are very interested in the idea that higher levels of good HDL cholesterol can help the brain to clear the toxic amyloid at an early stage, "said Reed.
Reed encourages people to keep cholesterol levels under control . " A significant number of people live more than 80 years, a period in which there is a high risk of Alzheimer's . This study is another piece of evidence that what we do today can affect our health positively in the years ahead , " he concluded.
Source Worldhealth
Supplements to counteract the cholesterol