<p>Although the findings stop short of directly proving that high cholesterol causes Alzheimer's disease or that lowering it would reduce the risk.<br /><br />"We found that high cholesterol levels were significantly related to brain plaques associated with Alzheimer's disease," said study author Kensuke Sasaki, MD, PhD, of Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan.<br /><br />The researchers looked at the brains of 147 people (76 men, 71 women) who were residents of a Japanese town and alive in 1988 when they underwent clinical examinations.<br /><br />All of the participants died between 1998 and 2003.</p>.<p>About a third of them had been diagnosed with dementia during life.<br /><br />When compared to people with low cholesterol levels, those with high cholesterol levels were more likely to have the bits of protein known as plaques: 62 percent versus 86 percent, respectively.</p>.<p>The study found no link between high cholesterol and the tangles that develop in the brain with Alzheimer's disease.<br /><br />In addition to high cholesterol increasing the risk of Alzheimer's disease, Sasaki previously found that insulin resistance, a sign of diabetes, may be another risk factor for brain plaques associated with Alzheimer’s disease.<br /><br />"Our study clearly makes the point that high cholesterol may contribute directly or indirectly to plaques in the brain," Sasaki said, "but failed treatment trials of cholesterol-lowering drugs in Alzheimer's disease means there is no simple link between lowering cholesterol and preventing Alzheimer's." <br /></p>
<p>Although the findings stop short of directly proving that high cholesterol causes Alzheimer's disease or that lowering it would reduce the risk.<br /><br />"We found that high cholesterol levels were significantly related to brain plaques associated with Alzheimer's disease," said study author Kensuke Sasaki, MD, PhD, of Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan.<br /><br />The researchers looked at the brains of 147 people (76 men, 71 women) who were residents of a Japanese town and alive in 1988 when they underwent clinical examinations.<br /><br />All of the participants died between 1998 and 2003.</p>.<p>About a third of them had been diagnosed with dementia during life.<br /><br />When compared to people with low cholesterol levels, those with high cholesterol levels were more likely to have the bits of protein known as plaques: 62 percent versus 86 percent, respectively.</p>.<p>The study found no link between high cholesterol and the tangles that develop in the brain with Alzheimer's disease.<br /><br />In addition to high cholesterol increasing the risk of Alzheimer's disease, Sasaki previously found that insulin resistance, a sign of diabetes, may be another risk factor for brain plaques associated with Alzheimer’s disease.<br /><br />"Our study clearly makes the point that high cholesterol may contribute directly or indirectly to plaques in the brain," Sasaki said, "but failed treatment trials of cholesterol-lowering drugs in Alzheimer's disease means there is no simple link between lowering cholesterol and preventing Alzheimer's." <br /></p>