This study was published in the Public Library of Science (PLoS One) 2011;6(8):e22854
Study title and authors:
Serum cholesterol and the progression of Parkinson's disease: results from DATATOP.
Huang X, Auinger P, Eberly S, Oakes D, Schwarzschild M, Ascherio A, Mailman R, Chen H; Parkinson Study Group DATATOP Investigators.
Department of Neurology, Pennsylvania State University-Milton Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States of America. Xuemei@psu.edu
This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21853051
The study was designed to test the hypothesis that higher cholesterol levels are correlated with slower Parkinson disease progression. Cholesterol levels were measured in 774 patients with early Parkinsons disease who were followed for 2 years. The study collected data on the number of patients with clinical disability requiring drug therapy (levodopa).
The study found that those with the highest cholesterol levels had a 25% decreased risk of needing drug therapy treatment for Parkinsons disease compared to those with the lowest cholesterol levels.
