A recent study suggests that developing neurodegenerative diseases with aincreased cholesterol levelscould be related. The results show that defective cholesterol metabolism is a common feature in people with impaired brain function. Therefore, researchers suggest that maintaining cholesterol levels could be a useful new strategy in treating certain brain diseases.
Cholesterol is an essential component of the body and helps maintain the integrity of cell membranes. It also helps synthesize hormones, vitamin D and other important cellular substances. About 30 percent of total cholesterol is found in brain cells. At the same time, cholesterol enriches the myelin sheath, allowing signaling between neurons to coordinate bodily functions such as walking and speaking. However, damage to the myelin sheath can slow down or reduce this transmission, accordingly leading to neurological problems. Now the study authors wanted to find out why certain neurodegenerative diseases lead to the loss of the protective cholesterol-rich myelin sheaths. They recently discovered that brain cells cannot maintain protective myelin sheaths in the absence of a protein called transactive response DNA binding protein (TDP-43).
Research shows that the protein TDP-43, which is involved in diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia, regulates the metabolism of theCholesterol affects the brain. It has also been shown that cholesterol synthesis and absorption play a crucial role in the formation of myelin sheaths. In addition, an imbalance in the regulation of cholesterol levels is a common feature of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
This finding supports the hypothesis that both cholesterol biosynthesis and uptake are impaired in TDP-43-deficient oligodendrocytes. Thus, reduced cholesterol metabolism appears to occur in people with frontotemporal dementia with TDP-43 pathologies in oligodendrocytes. Interestingly, the study also suggests that supplementing the TDP-43-deficient cells with cholesterol restores their ability to maintain the myelin sheath. The resultsthis studyare still in their early stages, but point to interesting areas of research that could open up in the future.
