"Sept. 12, 2011 -- High cholesterol levels are associated with changes in the brain that are characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease, a new study shows.
For the study, which is published in the journal Neurology, researchers used blood tests to measure cholesterol in 147 Japanese adults 10 to 15 years before their deaths. Fifty of them (or 34%) had been diagnosed with dementia.
Tissue samples from their brains were then examined on autopsy.
Those who had total cholesterol levels over 224 mg/dL in mid- to late life, before they had any symptoms of Alzheimer’s, were at least seven times more likely to have beta-amyloid plaques in their brains by the time they died, compared to people whose cholesterol was under 173 mg/dL. The American Heart Association considers total cholesterol levels below 200 mg/dL to be desirable."
For the study, which is published in the journal Neurology, researchers used blood tests to measure cholesterol in 147 Japanese adults 10 to 15 years before their deaths. Fifty of them (or 34%) had been diagnosed with dementia.
Tissue samples from their brains were then examined on autopsy.
Those who had total cholesterol levels over 224 mg/dL in mid- to late life, before they had any symptoms of Alzheimer’s, were at least seven times more likely to have beta-amyloid plaques in their brains by the time they died, compared to people whose cholesterol was under 173 mg/dL. The American Heart Association considers total cholesterol levels below 200 mg/dL to be desirable."
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