|
 |
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
|
|
Iron, Atherosclerosis, and Neurodegeneration: A Key Role for Cholesterol in Promoting Iron-Dependent Oxidative Damage?
Departments of aAnatomy and bBiochemistry, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119260
Address for correspondence: Dr. Wei-Yi Ong, Department of Anatomy, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119260. Voice: +65-68743662; fax: +65-67787643. antongwy{at}nus.edu.sg Ann N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1012: 51-64 (2004).
This article reviews the roles and interactions of iron, atherosclerosis, and neurodegeneration. It highlights the importance of cholesterol in promoting iron-dependent oxidative damage. An intriguing possibility is that hypercholesterolemia can increase brain iron load and both the aggregation of beta-amyloid and the ability of iron on plaques to catalyze oxidative damage. This could explain why hypercholesterolemia is a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease. Further work is necessary to study the mechanism of increased iron transport across the blood brain barrier in atherosclerosis.
Key Words: Alzheimer's disease • atherosclerosis • brain • cholesterol • iron • hypercholesterolemia • statin • transferrin This article has been cited by other articles:
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
