The serum lipid profile of Parkinson's disease patients: a study from China

Background: The association between the fasting levels of serum lipids and Parkinson's disease (PD) in Chinese populations remains largely unknown. Methods: This study enrolled 555 sporadic PD patients and 555 age-, gender- and body mass index (BMI)-matched controls. The fasting serum lipid concentrations of all subjects, including total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C) and triglycerides (TG), were measured. Results: Total cholesterol, LDL-C, HDL-C and TG were significantly lower in PD patients than in controls. The prevalence of PD is significantly lower in subjects with the second, third and fourth quartiles of total cholesterol than in those with the first quartile of total cholesterol, regardless of gender. The prevalence of PD is significantly lower in subjects with the third and fourth quartiles of LDL-C than in those with the first quartile of LDL-C, regardless of gender. Negative correlations were found between UPDRS part III score and level of total cholesterol/LDL-C. Conclusions: PD patients are with lower levels of total cholesterol, LDL-C, HDL-C and TG than controls. Lipids may be a marker of PD severity.