New research showing a strong link between Parkinson's disease and low levels of "bad" cholesterol are so worrying that U.S. researchers are launching a study to look into it.
The team at the University of North Carolina is planning clinical trials involving thousands of people to see whether statin drugs, which lower low density lipoprotein, or LDL, might actually cause Parkinson's in some people.
Other research has for several years suggested that people with abnormally low levels of LDL might be at higher risk of Parkinson's.
Xuemei Huang and colleagues found that patients with low levels of LDL cholesterol are at least three and a half times more likely to develop Parkinson's disease than those with higher LDL levels.
Writing in the journal Chemistry & Industry, they said they plan a bigger study of patients taking statins, the biggest-selling drugs in the world.
"I am very concerned, which is why I am planning a 16,000-patient prospective study to examine the possible role of statins," Huang said in a statement.
Courtesy ReutersBonnie - I will be anxiously awaiting the results of this trial.
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