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IMAGE: Investigators with the National Institute on Aging, part of the National Institutes of Health, are searching for drug candidates that may correct the brain's metabolic abnormalities, such as cholesterol breakdown...
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Credit: Dr. Vijay R. Varma
The blood-brain barrier is impermeable to cholesterol, yet high blood cholesterol is associated with increased risk of Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia. However, the underlying mechanisms mediating this relationship are poorly understood. A study published in the open-access journal
PLOS Medicine by Vijay Varma and colleagues at the National Institute on Aging, part of the National Institutes of Health, in Baltimore, Maryland, suggests that disturbances in the conversion of cholesterol to bile acids (called cholesterol catabolism) may play a role in the development of dementia.