New Research Reveals the Surprising Potential Role of 'Good' Cholesterol in Brain Health Here's what to know
A new study suggests how HDL, or "good" cholesterol, plays a role in maintaining brain health and cognitive function
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- A new study underscores that HDL, or “good” cholesterol, may play a direct role in cognitive function.
- The research specifically found a link between HDL particle size and greater gray matter volume on brain scans.
- However, experts said more research is necessary to determine the connection between HDL and brain health.
When you hear the word “cholesterol,” you probably think about cardiovascular health. After all, cholesterol has long been associated with clogged arteries and heart attacks.
But new research published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine adds to the evidence that a particular type of cholesterol—HDL, also known as “good” cholesterol—could play a significant role in brain health as we age.
With neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s on the rise, scientists are increasingly looking for ways to protect the brain and improve cognitive function. This study points to HDL as a promising piece of the puzzle.
"This study extended the benefits of HD beyond reducing cardiovascular disease to also potentially preserving gray matter and preventing brain atrophy in late life,” John Giacona, PhD, study author and an associate professor in the Applied Clinical Research Department at UT Southwestern Medical Center, told Health.
What is HDL?
HDL, or high-density lipoprotein, isn’t the only type of cholesterol in the body. There’s also low-density lipoprotein (LDL)—the “bad” cholesterol.
While LDL can build up in arteries over time and lead to heart attacks or strokes, HDL acts as a clean-up crew.
“It travels around the body in the bloodstream and scoops up cholesterol and lipids that have been deposited in peripheral tissues such as the coronary arteries, aorta, and any kind of blood vessel,” Giacona said. HDL then carries it to the liver, which will break it down and flush it from the body.
In recent years, scientists have begun learning more about HDL function, or “efflux capacity,” which is how well it can perform its role in clearing cholesterol. While traditional lipid panels can determine how much HDL you have, they don’t reveal how well it functions.
Scientists know that having more total HDL doesn’t affect functionality, Giacona said, but they are still exploring the factors that do. Research has suggested that HDL particle size may play a role.
What Did the Study Show?
To learn about how HDL particle size affects the brain, researchers tracked HDL levels, function, and particle size in over 1,800 adults ages 35 to 70 over seven years. They also tested participants’ cognitive function and measured brain matter volume via brain magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, at the beginning and end of the study.
“Higher HDL function and smaller HDL particle size were linked with greater gray matter volume and cognitive capacity in later life,” Giacona said.
Gray matter is brain tissue that plays a role in cognitive function, memories, and movement. Some studies have found that higher volume is associated with greater cognitive function. This study suggests that small-particle HDL might help maintain this gray matter by crossing the blood-brain barrier to support brain function and protect against atrophy.
The research echoes another paper that found that a higher concentration of small particle HDL was associated with better cognitive performance in midlife women (though that study didn’t include brain scans).
The Limitations
Still, the new research has limitations, Alvaro Pascual-Leone, MD, PhD, chief medical officer and co-founder of Linus Health and a professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, told Health.
It’s difficult to pinpoint whether HDL—or external factors—are responsible for preserving gray matter volume. While the researchers tested participants twice within seven years, Pascual-Leone said this isn’t enough data to observe a pattern because gray matter volume change in individuals isn’t always linear.
Additionally, while a helpful marker, gray matter isn’t a perfect predictor of cognitive health. “Gray matter volume changes depending on a number of things, including hydration,” said Joseph Masdeu, MD, PhD, director of the Nantz National Alzheimer Center at Houston Methodist.
“As an index of success in the brain, it’s not very strong,” he told Health. “When we want to look at memory problems in the older population, we tend to look at specific areas of the brain rather than the entire brain matter.”
To better understand the connection, future research should focus on specific brain regions and explore how HDL function directly influences cognitive outcomes.
What Can You Do To Preserve Brain Health?
Despite the uncertainty around HDL’s influence on cognition, the link between vascular health—which is affected by both HDL and LDL levels—and brain health is well established.
“If you have cardiovascular disease, that’s going to affect your nutrient support to the brain,” Pascual-Leone said. “If you optimize the vascular function, you’re going to—in the presence of another illness—still be able to function better than expected.”
Well-rounded lifestyle habits are important for heart health, Pascual-Leone said. Regular exercise can help regulate cholesterol levels, as can medications like statins if you have high LDL.
Masdeu recommended that anyone concerned about Alzheimer’s prevention follow the Mediterranean diet or a similar eating pattern, while Giacona advised people to follow the American Heart Association guidelines for cholesterol management.
Jani Hall
Jani Hall is a news editor for Health with a background in health, science, and investigative reporting. Previously, she wrote full time about parenting issues for the app Parent Lab. Before that, she worked as a reporter for National Geographic covering wildlife crime and exploitation.
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This story originally appeared on: Health News - Author:Hannah Singleton
