“It was not found in humans more than 40 years ago. It is now the fourth leading cause of death in the United States among people over 65,” writes one user. Another believes that the cause of Alzheimer’s disease is loss of myelin (cell membrane). “What is myelin made of? It is made up of CHOLESTEROL!!!”, he writes, claiming that cholesterol-lowering diets or herbs directly cause Alzheimer’s.
A third user also shares a screenshot of a video featuring an unknown man giving a presentation on the same topic. Foreign fact-checkers also found no evidence that the presenter is a doctor or otherwise connected to the industry. What he said in the video is not true.
The facts
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Alzheimer’s disease is not a disease of the last 40 years. Alois Alzheimer, from whom the name derives, described the disease more than 100 years ago.
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There is no single, specific reason for the development of the disease. Based on today’s data, age-related changes in the brain, genetic and environmental factors, and lifestyle are likely to play a role.
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Diet and lifestyle (including sudden fluctuations in cholesterol levels) may play a role in the development of Alzheimer’s disease, but are not a prerequisite.
Alzheimer’s disease is a debilitating, slowly progressive disease of the nervous system that usually begins in old age. The most important risk factor is age, but genetic causes and female sex are also considered more important. First-degree relatives have an age-dependent risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease of up to 38%, and some data suggest that this percentage may be even higher.
Alzheimer’s disease is by no means a new disease: “It has long been known that Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease, meaning that nerve cells in the brain, or neurons, are destroyed,” said Pille Taba, professor of neurology at the University of Tartu. she told Faktikontrolle.
The disease was named in 1910 by Alois Alzheimer, who, together with the psychiatrist Emil Kaepelin, was the first to discover the pathological signs of dementia, but the history of the disease itself is centuries older. Alzheimer’s disease has only come to prominence in the last three decades as medical advances have increased the ability to diagnose the disease.
How are cholesterol and Alzheimer’s disease related? The post claims that lowering cholesterol in the body, such as through diet or herbs, is dangerous and causes Alzheimer’s disease. This is not true. Heart disease, diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure and high cholesterol are among the risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease, so treating high cholesterol is important to prevent the disease.
If your cholesterol level is dangerously high, your doctor may prescribe cholesterol-lowering therapy. Medications are often prescribed from the statin group.
Statins reduce the amount of cholesterol produced by the liver and help the liver eliminate cholesterol already in the blood. It is prescribed only in case of dangerously high cholesterol levels and must be accompanied by a healthy lifestyle.
The Faktikontroll newspaper wrote in May that the benefits of statins outweigh their potential harm. Keiu Heinla, head of the Medicines Agency’s clinical evaluation office, explained at the time that all risks must be analyzed when prescribing treatment and that treatment is only started for those patients who have a sufficiently high risk of disease and mortality due to cholesterol.
Dr Emma Anderson, associate professor of psychiatry at the University of London, told the fact-checking publication Full Fact that there is no definitive answer on the overall effect of cholesterol on Alzheimer’s risk, but today’s evidence suggests that levels of Higher cholesterol tends to increase the risk of dementia. “I’m not aware of any extensive, peer-reviewed studies showing that low cholesterol causes Alzheimer’s disease,” she said. It is very beneficial to follow a lifestyle that does not critically lower or raise cholesterol levels.
Verdict: Wrong. The claim that Alzheimer’s disease is caused by cholesterol-lowering therapy is false. It would be more dangerous not to treat high cholesterol and the diseases that result from it. The post is also misleading when it comes to the history of Alzheimer’s disease: it is not a disease of the last 40 years.
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2023-12-29 12:31:58
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