Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The researchers discovered that people who had high fluctuations in their cholesterol levels had a 60 percent higher risk of developing dementia and a 23 percent greater risk of cognitive decline.
More specifically, they found that high fluctuations (in the top 25%) in total cholesterol were associated with a 60% increase in dementia and a 23% increase in cognitive decline.
However, high levels of cholesterol can cause health problems, including coronary heart disease. A new study suggests that, in older people, fluctuating cholesterol levels may increase dementia risk.
Cholesterol is a cell signaling molecule that is highly regulated in eukaryotic cell membranes. [1] [2] [3] In human health, its effects are most notable in inflammation, metabolic syndrome, and neurodegeneration. [4]
A 2007 study demonstrated that blood total cholesterol levels have an exponential effect on cardiovascular and total mortality, with the association more pronounced in younger subjects. Because cardiovascular disease is relatively rare in the younger population, the impact of high cholesterol on health is larger in older people. [76]
Hypercholesterolemia, also called high cholesterol, is the presence of high levels of cholesterol in the blood. [1] It is a form of hyperlipidemia (high levels of lipids in the blood), hyperlipoproteinemia (high levels of lipoproteins in the blood), and dyslipidemia (any abnormalities of lipid and lipoprotein levels in the blood). [1]
The new study, published Wednesday in Neurology, found that having either high or low levels of high-density lipoprotein, or HDL, cholesterol, may increase the risk of dementia in older adults.
Hyperlipidemia is abnormally high levels of any or all lipids (e.g. fats, triglycerides, cholesterol, phospholipids) or lipoproteins in the blood. [2] The term hyperlipidemia refers to the laboratory finding itself and is also used as an umbrella term covering any of various acquired or genetic disorders that result in that finding. [3]