A new research says that managing cholesterol levels could help reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease. Did you ever think that there could a be a genetic link between the progressive brain disorder and the heart disease? Well, there is.
After examining the DNA of more than 1.5 million people, the study showed that risk factors such as elevated triglyceride and cholesterol levels (HDL, LDL, and total cholesterol) were genetically related to Alzheimer's risk. This study included a researcher of Indian origin too. "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. Rahul S. Desikan, Assistant Professor at the UCSF added that 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. The researchers confirmed their findings in a large genetic study of healthy adults by showing that 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.
This study has been published in the journal, Acta Neuropathologica.
