The Cerebrospinal Fluid Profile of Cholesterol Metabolites in Parkinson's Disease and Their Association With Disease State and Clinical Features

Disordered cholesterol metabolism is linked to neurodegeneration. In this study we investigated the profile of cholesterol metabolites found in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. When adjustments were made for confounding variables of age and sex, 7 alpha,(25R)26-dihydroxycholesterol and a second oxysterol 7 alpha,x,y-trihydroxycholest-4-en-3-one (7 alpha,x,y-triHCO), whose exact structure is unknown, were found to be significantly elevated in PD CSF. The likely location of the additional hydroxy groups on the second oxysterol are on the sterol side-chain. We found that CSF 7 alpha-hydroxycholesterol levels correlated positively with depression in PD patients, while two presumptively identified cholestenoic acids correlated negatively with depression.

Automated summary

Elevated levels of two cholesterol metabolites were found in the cerebrospinal fluid of PD patients, potentially linked to depression.