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High levels of “good” cholesterol and low levels of “bad” cholesterol are correlated with lower levels of the amyloid plaque deposition in the brain that is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease, UC Davis researchers have found. “Our study shows that both higher levels of HDL — good — and lower levels of LDL — bad — cholesterol in the bloodstream are associated with lower levels of amyloid plaque deposits in the brain,” said Bruce Reed, lead study author and associate director of the UC Davis Alzheimer’s Disease Center.
Bruce Reed

Bruce Reed

“Unhealthy patterns of cholesterol could be directly causing the higher levels of amyloid known to contribute to Alzheimer’s, in the same way that such patterns promote heart disease,” he said.

The relationship between elevated cholesterol and increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease has been known for some time, but the current study is the first to specifically link cholesterol to amyloid deposits in living human study participants, Reed said.

The study, “Associations Between Serum Cholesterol Levels and Cerebral Amyloidosis,” is published in JAMA Neurology.

Charles DeCarli, director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Center and an author of the study, said it is a wake-up call that, just as people can influence their late-life brain health by limiting vascular brain injury through controlling their blood pressure, the same is true of getting a handle on their serum cholesterol levels.

“If you have an LDL above 100 or an HDL that is less than 40, even if you’re taking a statin drug, you want to make sure that you are getting those numbers into alignment,” DeCarli said. “You have to get the HDL up and the LDL down.”

“This study provides a reason to certainly continue cholesterol treatment in people who are developing memory loss, regardless of concerns regarding their cardiovascular health,” said Reed, a professor in the UC Davis Department of Neurology.

“It also suggests a method of lowering amyloid levels in people who are middle aged, when such build-up is just starting,” he said. “If modifying cholesterol levels in the brain early in life turns out to reduce amyloid deposits late in life, we could potentially make a significant difference in reducing the prevalence of Alzheimer’s, a goal of an enormous amount of research and drug development effort.”

The study’s other authors are Sylvia Villeneuve and William Jagust of UC Berkeley and Wendy Mack and Helena C. Chui of the University of Southern California.
The UC Davis Alzheimer’s Disease Center is one of only 27 research centers designated by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Aging. For more information, visit alzheimer.ucdavis.edu.