A recent study found that genetic high blood pressure and certain cholesterol levels increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, Medicalnewstoday reported. This study is a study on the effect of hereditary hypertension and hyperlipidemia on the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, and was published in the journal ‘JAMA Network Open’. High cholesterol levels and high blood pressure are both known risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease, a type of dementia that causes memory loss and cognitive decline.
Cholesterol is a type of fat made by cells in the liver and intestines. Cholesterol plays a vital role in the body’s production of substances such as estrogen, testosterone, vitamin D, and bile, and it contains various body tissues. As cholesterol is not soluble in water, it is carried through the bloodstream in the form of lipoproteins.
HDL cholesterol, also known as good cholesterol, helps to remove LDL cholesterol, also known as bad cholesterol, which builds up in the arteries. However, too much HDL cholesterol in the body can be harmful. Previous studies have shown that high HDL cholesterol can cause inflammation in the body. Other studies have also found that high levels of HDL cholesterol have adverse effects on the heart and are associated with cardiovascular death.
On the other hand, blood pressure means the force required for blood to move through the blood vessels throughout the body, and is generally measured by the values of systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ). High blood pressure occurs when the heart has to exert unnatural force to pump blood throughout the body. A systolic blood pressure of less than 120 and a diastolic blood pressure of less than 80 are generally considered healthy, and a systolic blood pressure of more than 130 is likely to be diagnosed with hypertension.
According to the researchers, genetic and environmental factors influence the development of Alzheimer’s disease. They conducted a study of the genetic link to Alzheimer’s disease in 39,000 participants diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and 401,000 control participants.
As a result of the analysis, the researchers found that people with a genetic risk of high HDL cholesterol are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease. Regarding this, he explained, “High HDL cholesterol can cause disorders in the cholesterol transport process in the brain, which can affect the supply of cholesterol to brain cells and the removal of waste products.”
In addition, participants with genetically high systolic blood pressure were also more likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. “A very important finding from our study is that high systolic blood pressure is likely to be a direct cause of Alzheimer’s disease in the future,” said Dr Ruth Fricke-Schmidt. This requires improvements in prevention and early treatment.”
Experts also analyzed that providing appropriate treatment to patients with genetically high blood pressure or high HDL cholesterol levels could lead to a preventive effect against Alzheimer’s. In addition, the research team plans to closely investigate the metabolic pathway of HDL in the brain through various studies in the future and expand the results of this study into potential new drug development.
