title: Serum cholesterol and nigrostriatal R2* values in Parkinson's disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The occurrence of Parkinson's disease (PD) is known to be associated both with increased nigrostriatal iron content and with low serum cholesterol and PD, but there has been no study to determine a potential relationship between these two factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  High-resolution MRI (T1-, T2, and multiple echo T2*-weighted imaging) and fasting lipid levels were obtained from 40 patients with PD and 29 healthy controls. Iron content was estimated from mean R2* values (R2* = 1/T2*) calculated for each nigrostriatal structure including substantia nigra, caudate, putamen, and globus pallidus. This was correlated with serum cholesterol levels after controlling for age, gender, and statin use.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In patients with PD, higher serum cholesterol levels were associated with lower iron content in the substantia nigra (R = -0.43, p = 0.011 for total-cholesterol, R = -0.31, p = 0.080 for low-density lipoprotein) and globus pallidus (R = -0.38, p = 0.028 for total-cholesterol, R = -0.27, p = 0.127 for low-density lipoprotein), but only a trend toward significant association of higher total-cholesterol with lower iron content in the striatum (R = -0.34, p = 0.052 for caudate; R = -0.32, p = 0.061 for putamen). After adjusting for clinical measures, the cholesterol-iron relationships held or became even stronger in the substantia nigra and globus pallidus, but weaker in the caudate and putamen. There was no significant association between serum cholesterol levels and nigrostriatal iron content for controls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The data show that higher serum total-cholesterol concentration is associated with lower iron content in substantia nigra and globus pallidus in Parkinson's disease patients. Further studies should investigate whether this is mechanistic or epiphenomenological relationship.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Pennsylvania State University-Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
authors.forename: Guangwei
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Du
authors.forename: Mechelle M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.forename: Michele L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Shaffer
authors.forename: Honglei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Qing X
authors.initials: QX
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Richard B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Mailman
authors.forename: Xuemei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D005917:Globus Pallidus / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007501:Iron / Q000378:metabolism; D008077:Lipoproteins, LDL / Q000097:blood; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D059906:Neuroimaging; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013378:Substantia Nigra / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D008077:Lipoproteins, LDL; D002784:Cholesterol; D007501:Iron