Changes in cholesterol levels could be 'bad for older brains'
CHANGES in cholesterol levels could affect older people’s brain power, according to research.
Changes in cholesterol levels could affect older people’s brain power, a study suggests
Scientists believe that low-density lipids – “bad” cholesterol – may block oxygen flow to the brain.
It can cause older people to take longer in performing brain games.
In a study of 4,428 pensioners from Scotland, Ireland and the Netherlands, scientists found that greater variations in low-density lipids (LDL) are associated with lower cognitive performance.
Study lead author Dr Roelof Smit, of Leiden University Medical Centre in the Netherlands, said the results showed that variability in LDL cholesterol may be an important factor in how the brain functions.
Low-density lipids may block oxygen flow to the brain in older people
Dr Smit added: “Our findings suggest for the first time that it’s not just the average level of your LDL-cholesterol that is related to brain health, but also how much your levels vary from one measurement to another.”
The study suggests that variability in LDL cholesterol could affect how the brain functions
Dr Smit said measurements fluctuate because of diet, exercise, frequency of cholesterol-lowering statins and other factors.
But study senior author Professor Wouter Jukema said the fluctuations might also reflect an increasingly impaired homeostasis; for example, due to age or underlying disease.
The research involved 4,428 pensioners from Scotland, Ireland and the Netherlands
The research, published in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation, involved 4,428 pensioners from Scotland, Ireland and the Netherlands in the PROspective Study of Pravastatin in the Elderly at Risk.