Category: Parkinsonism (Other)
Objective: We aimed to clarify the association of serum cholesterol levels and related inflammatory index with the degeneration of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons and clinical symptoms in drug-naïve patients with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB).
Background: Peripheral inflammation is one of key pathogenesis in patients with DLB. Serum cholesterol has anti-inflammatory or proinflammatory effects and may therefore be involved in the pathophysiology of DLB.
Method: Thirty-eight newly diagnosed drug-naïve patients with DLB were enrolled. After an overnight fast, we examined the levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), HDL-C related inflammatory indices and their associations with clinical symptoms and striatal specific binding ratio (SBR) on 123I-FP-CIT SPECT.
Results: Among the patients, 28 (71%) were male. Age and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score averaged 79±6 (mean±SD) years and 20±6, respectively. Sex and body mass index (BMI) were associated with serum cholesterol levels. Higher HDL-C levels were associated with higher striatal SBR and better MMSE score after adjusting for sex and BMI (striatal SBR; β=0.451, p=0.002, MMSE; β=0.337, p=0.022), whereas there was no association between the levels of triglyceride or LDL-C and clinical variables. Among HDL-C related inflammatory indices, neutrophil-to-HDL-C ratio was associated with striatal SBR (β=-0.470, p=0.005) and MMSE score (β=-0.312, p=0.042) after adjusting for sex and BMI.
Conclusion: Higher serum HDL-C levels and lower HDL-C related inflammatory index were associated with milder degeneration of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons and better cognitive function, suggesting HDL-C may be involved in the pathophysiology of DLB through its anti-inflammatory effects.
figure1
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
T. Umehara, M. Mimori, M. Ozawa, T. Shiraishi, T. Kitagawa, M. Ikeda, H. Matsuno, S. Omoto, R. Sengoku, H. Murakami, Y. Iguchi. Association of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and related inflammatory index with neurodegeneration in drug-naïve dementia with Lewy bodies [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2025; 40 (suppl 1). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/association-of-high-density-lipoprotein-cholesterol-and-related-inflammatory-index-with-neurodegeneration-in-drug-naive-dementia-with-lewy-bodies/. Accessed October 5, 2025.« Back to 2025 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/association-of-high-density-lipoprotein-cholesterol-and-related-inflammatory-index-with-neurodegeneration-in-drug-naive-dementia-with-lewy-bodies/