Higher occurrence of Parkinson's linked to low LDL cholesterol
- From: "eml" <mmlevy46@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: 19 Dec 2006 16:51:56 -0800
Higher occurrence of Parkinson's linked to low LDL cholesterol
Public release date: 19-Dec-2006
University of North Carolina School of Medicine
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releas...hoo121906.php#
CHAPEL HILL -- People with low levels of LDL cholesterol are more
likely to have Parkinson's disease than people with high LDL levels,
according to University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers.
LDL stands for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; low levels of LDL
cholesterol are considered an indicator of good cardiovascular health.
Earlier studies have found intriguing correlations between Parkinson's
disease, heart attacks, stroke and smoking.
"People with Parkinson's disease have a lower occurrence of heart
attack and stroke than people who do not have the disease," said Dr.
Xuemei Huang, medical director of the Movement Disorder Clinic at UNC
Hospitals and an assistant professor of neurology in the UNC School of
Medicine. "Parkinson's patients are also more likely to carry the gene
APOE-2, which is linked with lower LDL cholesterol." And for more than
a decade, researchers have known that smoking, which increases a
person's risk for cardiovascular disease, is also associated with a
decreased risk of Parkinson's disease.
These findings led Huang to examine whether higher LDL cholesterol
might be associated with a decreased occurrence for Parkinson's
disease, and vice versa. "If my hypothesis was correct," she said,
"lower LDL-C, something that is linked to healthy hearts, would be
associated with a higher occurrence of Parkinson's." The results of
Huang's study, published online Dec. 18 by the journal Movement
Disorders, confirmed her hypothesis. "We found that lower LDL
concentrations were indeed associated with a higher occurrence of
Parkinson's disease," Huang said. Participants with lower LDL levels
(less than 114 milligrams per deciliter) had a 3.5-fold higher
occurrence of Parkinson's than the participants with higher LDL levels
(more than 138 milligrams per deciliter).
Huang cautioned that people should not change their eating habits, nor
their use of statins and other cholesterol-lowering drugs, because of
the results. The study was based on relatively small numbers of cases
and controls, and the results are too preliminary, she said. Further
large prospective studies are needed, Huang added.
"Parkinson's is a disease full of paradoxes," Huang said. "We've known
for years that smoking reduces the risk of developing Parkinson's. More
than 40 studies have documented that fact. But we don't advise people
to smoke because of the other more serious health risks," she said.
Huang and her colleagues recruited 124 Parkinson's patients who were
treated at the UNC Movement Disorder Clinic between July 2002 and
November 2004 to take part in the study. Another 112 people, all
spouses of patients treated in the clinic, were recruited as the
control group. Fasting cholesterol profiles were obtained from each
participant. The researchers also recorded information on each
participant's gender, age, smoking habits and use of
cholesterol-lowering drugs.
Huang notes that the study also found participants with Parkinson's
were much less likely to take cholesterol-lowering drugs than
participants in the control group. This, combined with the findings
about LDL cholesterol, suggests two questions for additional study,
Huang said.
"One is whether lower cholesterol predates the onset of Parkinson's.
Number two, what is the role of statins in that? In other words, does
taking cholesterol-lowering drugs somehow protect against Parkinson's?
We need to address these questions," she said.
###
Research funding was provided by the National Institute on Aging, the
Intramural Research Program of the National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences and the General Clinical Research Center at UNC
Hospitals.
Huang's co-authors include Dr. Richard B. Mailman, Jennifer L. Woodard,
Peter C. Chen, and Drs. Dong Xiang, Richard W. Murrow and Yi-Zhe Wang,
all of the UNC School of Medicine. Additional co-authors include Dr.
Honglei Chen of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
and Drs. William C. Miller and Charles Poole, both from the department
of epidemiology in the UNC School of Public Health.
Note: School of Medicine contact: Tom Hughes, (919) 966-6047 or
tahughes@xxxxxxxxxxxx
News Services contact: Clinton Colmenares, (919) 843-1991(office),
(919) 218-7833 (cell) or clinton_colmenares@xxxxxxx
__________________
.
- Prev by Date: Re: ONE CURE for BOTH type 1 and type 2 diabetes???
- Next by Date: Re: ONE CURE for BOTH type 1 and type 2 diabetes???
- Previous by thread: Re: ONE CURE for BOTH type 1 and type 2 diabetes???
- Next by thread: Re: Lose the VAT: Cure the type-2 diabetes.
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
