A new study conducted by researchers at the University of Bristol has found that lower blood cholesterol levels may help reduce the risk of developing dementia.
اضافة اعلان
The research, led by Dr. Liv Tybjærg from the University of Bristol, revealed that people with certain genetic variants that naturally lower cholesterol have a reduced risk of dementia. The study, which analyzed data from more than one million individuals in Denmark, England, and Finland, was published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia.
Study Details
Some people are born with genetic variants that naturally affect the same proteins targeted by cholesterol-lowering drugs. To examine how these medications might influence dementia risk, researchers used a method known as Mendelian Randomization, a genetic analysis technique that simulates the effects of such drugs while minimizing the impact of confounding factors such as body weight, diet, and lifestyle habits.
By comparing individuals with these genetic variants to those without them, the researchers were able to measure the difference in dementia risk between the two groups.
Findings
The study found that a modest reduction in blood cholesterol—by just one millimole per liter—was associated with up to an 80% lower risk of dementia when using certain targeted drugs.
The results suggest that lower cholesterol levels, whether due to genetics or medical treatment, may help reduce the likelihood of developing dementia. However, the researchers emphasized that the study does not provide conclusive evidence about the direct effect of the medications themselves.
One of the main challenges in studying dementia is that it typically appears later in life, requiring long-term follow-up. The precise mechanism linking high cholesterol to dementia remains unclear, but one possible explanation is that elevated cholesterol levels can lead to atherosclerosis—the buildup of cholesterol in blood vessels—which can occur in both the body and the brain, increasing the risk of small blood clots, a known contributor to dementia.
Source: Medical Xpress
