Cholesterol increases risk of Alzheimer’s, heart disease, study finds The findings were made by researchers at the Linda Kranik Institute for Down Syndrome and the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
High cholesterol levels increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and heart disease. But it’s not clear how cholesterol damages the brain to promote Alzheimer’s disease and how it affects blood vessels to promote blood flow.
Using data from studies of two rare diseases, Down syndrome and Niemann-Pick-C disease, researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine’s Linda Kranik Institute for Down Syndrome and the Department of Neurology found that cholesterol disrupts the gradual process. Cell division leads to defective cells throughout the body.
The study, published in the online journal PLOS ONE, shows that LDL, the so-called ‘bad cholesterol’, can cause cell damage in both humans and mice.
Identifying the specific problem caused by cholesterol could lead to entirely new approaches in the treatment of many human diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease and atherosclerosis-prone cancers. All of these show signs of defective cell division.