It’s been hypothesised that Lower levels of bile acids, which are made when the body breaks down cholesterol, are linked to a higher risk of dementia among men, according to the NIA study which were published in PLOS Medicine.
The research team led by Doctor Madhav Thambisetty, of NIA’s Clinical and Transactional Neuroscience Section in the Laboratory of Behavioural Neuroscience examined whether bile acids that arise from breaking down cholesterol and that do enter the brain, were related to the risk of dementia.
The research team analysed health records, brain scans, and blood and brain tissue samples collected during autopsy from long-term studies.
They also used data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink, which has electronic health records from 60 million patients in the United Kingdom.
The researchers found that people who had lower blood levels of bile acids were more likely to have higher levels of amyloid protein in the brain, faster brain shrinkage, and more damage to the brain’s white matter.
This difference was more noticeable in men than in women.
