ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A new study uncovers more of the link
between Parkinson’s disease and cholesterol.
Two years ago, researchers at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel
Hill found people with low levels of LDL -- “bad” cholesterol -- are more likely
to have Parkinson’s disease than people with high LDL levels; but it was not
determined whether or not the patient’s had low levels before being diagnosed.
Now, a follow-up study reveals low levels were present in a group of Japanese
men long before being diagnosed with the neurological disorder.
The study represented data collected from a group of 3,233 Japanese men, from
1991 to 1993 -- a time when statin medication to lower cholesterol was not
widely available. Over about a 10-year observation period, researchers found the
incidence of Parkinson’s disease increased as LDL levels decreased. Researchers
say the men with lower LDL levels (85 milligrams per deciliter) were two times
more likely than those with higher LDL levels (135 milligrams per deciliter) to
be diagnosed with Parkinson’s.
Researchers say there is still more work to be done on the Parkinson’s -
cholesterol link. “We don’t know if Parkinson’s causes lower cholesterol or if
lower cholesterol somehow increases the susceptibility to Parkinson’s disease,”
lead author Xuemei Huang, M.D., Ph.D., medical director of the Movement Disorder
Clinic at UNC Hospitals and an assistant professor of neurology in the UNC
School of Medicine, told Ivanhoe. Dr. Huang says she plans to continue her
research. “We are looking at the role of statins in Parkinson’s disease is. We
are looking at other cohorts to see if the same findings will replicate in women
or African Americans.”
SOURCE: Ivanhoe interview with Xuemei Huang, M.D., Ph.D.; Movement Disorders,
published online March 31, 2008
