- Researchers at the University of North Carolina School of
Medicine are organizing a major study to find out if taking
cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins increases the risk of
Parkinson's disease for some patients.
Dr. Xuemei Huang, medical director of the Parkinson's program at the
school in Chapel Hill, said researchers need to determine if having
low levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the so-called "bad
cholesterol," are a "cause or a consequence" of Parkinson's. "We
know there is an association, but we don't know if they are a
cause," said Dr. Huang, adding that the study "could lead to an
understanding of what causes Parkinson's disease." Parkinson's is an
progressive neurodegenerative disorder typically affecting 1 percent
to 2 percent of the population 60 and older. The lifetime risk for
the disease -- marked by symptoms such as tremors, muscle rigidity,
limited mobility and difficulty writing and dressing -- is higher in
men than women.

The prospective, 16,000-person study comes on the heels of other
research Dr. Huang conducted, which examined 236 subjects with
different levels of LDL. The study included 124 persons diagnosed
with Parkinson's and 112 controls.

Just as Dr. Huang still does not know if reduced levels of LDL cause
Parkinson's, she said she also has not established a causal link
between statins and the disease.

She advised those who take statins "not to get panicky" and stop
taking the medications because of her recent findings. Statins
protect against heart disease and stroke, she said, and those life-
threatening conditions are far more prevalent than Parkinson's.

In the U.S., some 12 million Medicare Part D beneficiaries take
statin drugs, such as Pfizer's Lipitor, and Merck's Zocor, to clear
LDL from arteries. A key goal of the new study, Dr. Huang said, will
be to determine if statins are "protective against neurodegenerative
diseases," which some have hypothesized, or if their widespread use
helps promote prevalence of Parkinson's.

Dr. Ronald Ziman, a California neurologist and board member of the
American Parkinson Disease Association, said he is intrigued by the
study.

"Parkinson's is a neurodegenerative illness like Alzheimer's. We
know lipid profiles have a bearing on Alzheimer's, and there are a
lot of similarities between Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. So I
wouldn't be surprised by the link" between LDL and Parkinson's that
the University of North Carolina team described," Dr. Ziman said,
adding:

"Guidelines have been put forward for [further] extraordinary
reductions in LDL. But this new research could be the first
indication of the advisability of a floor for levels of LDL."

By Joyce Howard Price(THE WASHINGTON TIMES)