A Benefit of Bad Cholesterol?

Ivanhoe Newswire
Friday, December 22, 2006; 12:00 AM

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A new study reveals people with lower levels of LDL cholesterol -- "bad" cholesterol -- have an increased risk of developing Parkinson's disease. However, researchers caution increasing LDL by changing diet or medications is not a safe idea.

LDL is low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and low levels of it are considered an indicator for good cardiovascular health. This is why LDL cholesterol is dubbed the bad cholesterol. In previous research, investigators have reported interesting findings linking Parkinson's disease and heart health. From these findings, Xuemei Huang, M.D., Ph.D, from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, hypothesized that a lower LDL level may be associated with an increased occurrence of Parkinson's disease.

The study included 124 Parkinson's patients and 112 of their healthy spouses. Researchers did a cholesterol profile for each participant. Researchers report lower LDL concentrations, which are usually associated with a healthy heart, are also associated with a 3.5-fold higher occurrence of Parkinson's disease.

Study authors report while this study is interesting, it goes along the evidence put forth by more than 40 studies documenting that smoking reduces the risk of Parkinson's disease. Even with that evidence, doctors would never advise people to smoke.

Huang says this was a small study and further larger studies need to be done. Furthermore, researchers say studies on whether statins somehow protect against Parkinson's also needs to be done.

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SOURCE: Movement Disorders published online on December 18, 2006