A new study shows that higher levels of goodness cholesterol Are associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease. The study also showed that it depends on the quality rather than the quantity of total cholesterol carried by HDL (high-density lipoprotein) particles circulating in a woman’s blood. The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance produced by the liver. It plays a major role in the formation of cell membranes and vitamin D. However, cholesterol cannot move through the body on its own because it does not dissolve in water. There are particles called lipoproteins that help move cholesterol through the bloodstream.

The two types of lipoproteins cause two different types of cholesterol. Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is a bad cholesterol that ultimately causes high cholesterol. On the other hand, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) is the good cholesterol that helps maintain cholesterol levels. Good cholesterol helps return bad cholesterol to the liver where it can be removed. When your LDL is higher than HDL, it causes fat to accumulate in the blood vessels.

The study suggests that once women reach the menopause transition, it is a matter of quality rather than quantity. Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh in the US found that the number of large HDL particles in women’s bodies increased over time. Unfortunately, these larger particles did not work as well as their smaller counterparts.

Summer R., professor of epidemiology at Pitt Public Health. “We were able to show that early in midlife, women who had more small-sized particles and whose particle concentrations of phospholipids increased during the menopause transition had better episodic memory later in life,” said El Khoudary. are more likely to experience.

Loss of working memory is the first sign of Alzheimer’s disease. HDL particles vary in their size, structure, and level of functioning. During the study, researchers repeatedly assessed participants’ cognitive function from 2000 to 2016 and compared these data to changes in their HDL particles, structure and function as the women aged.

The team has previously shown that health behaviors work to improve the quality of HDL particles, for example by adding more phospholipid-rich particles to the bloodstream. “This is good news in this developing picture of brain health and ‘not so good’ cholesterol after all,” said El Khoudry.

The researchers advised that although high levels of HDL-C may not be protective as we age, there are some things you can do to help, even at age 40.

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