Lowering cholesterol and triglyceride levels may protect against Alzheimer's disease risk, reports a new study. The findings of the study are published in the journal Acta Neuropathologica. Managing cholesterol might help reduce //Alzheimer's risk, says a team of researchers, including one of Indian-origin, who identified a genetic link between progressive brain disorder and heart disease.
‘Managing cholesterol and triglyceride levels may help reduce Alzheimer's disease risk.’
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Examining DNA from more than 1.5 million people, the study showed that risk factors for heart disease such as elevated triglyceride and cholesterol levels (HDL, LDL, and total cholesterol) were genetically related to Alzheimer's risk. Read More..
However, genes that contribute to other cardiovascular risk factors, like body mass index and Type-2 diabetes, did not seem to contribute to genetic risk for Alzheimer's.
"The genes that influenced lipid metabolism were the ones that also were related to Alzheimer's disease risk," said Celeste M. Karch, Assistant Professor at the Washington University's School of Medicine.
Thus, if the right genes and proteins could be targeted, it may be possible to lower the risk for Alzheimer's disease in some people by managing their cholesterol and triglycerides, added Rahul S. Desikan, Assistant Professor at the UCSF.
For the study, the team identified points of DNA that increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and also heighten the risk for Alzheimer's disease.
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Their analysis confirmed that six of the 90 regions had very strong effects on Alzheimer's and heightened blood lipid levels, including several within genes that had not previously been linked to dementia risk.
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The researchers confirmed their findings in a large genetic study of healthy adults by showing that these same risk factors were more common in people with a family history of Alzheimer's, even though they had not themselves developed dementia or other symptoms such as memory loss.
"These results imply that cardiovascular and Alzheimer's pathology co-occur because they are linked genetically. That is, if you carry this handful of gene variants, you may be at risk not only for heart disease but also for Alzheimer's," Desikan said.
Source-IANS