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Friday
Low LDL Levels Linked to Parkinson's Risk - CME Teaching Brief - MedPage Today: " Low levels of LDL cholesterol appear to confer a greater risk of Parkinson's disease, suggesting that it's possible to have too little of a bad thing, according to researchers here.
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Looking at cholesterol levels in patients with Parkinson's versus controls, Xuemei Huang, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of North Carolina, and colleagues, found that an LDL concentration that is ideal from a cardiovascular viewpoint was associated with a 3.5-fold increased risk for Parkinson's.
Paradoxically, statins, which act primarily by lowering LDL, appeared to have a protective effect, the authors reported online in Movement Disorders.
'Our data provide preliminary evidence that low LDL cholesterol may be associated with higher occurrence of Parkinson's disease, and/or that statin use may lower PD occurrence, either of which finding warrants further investigation,' the investigators wrote"....Interestingly, use of either cholesterol-lowering drugs, or statins alone, was related to lower Parkinson's disease occurrence," the authors wrote.
After adjusting for age, gender, and smoking status, the multivariate odds ratio for the use of any cholesterol-lowering agent was 0.36 (95% CI, 0.19-0.68).
They found similar results when they looked separately at statins. The odds ratio for statin use with further adjustment for LDL concentrations was 0.37 (95% CI, 0.19-0.72) and without adjustment was 0.41 (95% CI, 0.22- 0.79).
Their findings raise two fundamental questions, Dr. Huang said.
"One is whether lower cholesterol predates the onset of Parkinson's. Number two, what is the role of statins in that? In other words, does taking cholesterol-lowering drugs somehow protect against Parkinson's? We need to address these questions," she said.
"The study was retrospective in nature, and we could not make a causal inference between LDL-C and/or statin use and risk of Parkinson's disease," the authors pointed out. "Further, the study had a relatively small sample size, and thus limited statistical power."
.
Looking at cholesterol levels in patients with Parkinson's versus controls, Xuemei Huang, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of North Carolina, and colleagues, found that an LDL concentration that is ideal from a cardiovascular viewpoint was associated with a 3.5-fold increased risk for Parkinson's.
Paradoxically, statins, which act primarily by lowering LDL, appeared to have a protective effect, the authors reported online in Movement Disorders.
'Our data provide preliminary evidence that low LDL cholesterol may be associated with higher occurrence of Parkinson's disease, and/or that statin use may lower PD occurrence, either of which finding warrants further investigation,' the investigators wrote"....Interestingly, use of either cholesterol-lowering drugs, or statins alone, was related to lower Parkinson's disease occurrence," the authors wrote.
After adjusting for age, gender, and smoking status, the multivariate odds ratio for the use of any cholesterol-lowering agent was 0.36 (95% CI, 0.19-0.68).
They found similar results when they looked separately at statins. The odds ratio for statin use with further adjustment for LDL concentrations was 0.37 (95% CI, 0.19-0.72) and without adjustment was 0.41 (95% CI, 0.22- 0.79).
Their findings raise two fundamental questions, Dr. Huang said.
"One is whether lower cholesterol predates the onset of Parkinson's. Number two, what is the role of statins in that? In other words, does taking cholesterol-lowering drugs somehow protect against Parkinson's? We need to address these questions," she said.
"The study was retrospective in nature, and we could not make a causal inference between LDL-C and/or statin use and risk of Parkinson's disease," the authors pointed out. "Further, the study had a relatively small sample size, and thus limited statistical power."