Exploring biomarkers of neurodegenerative risk: associations of oxysterols, sex hormones, and reproductive characteristics in older women.

ABSTRACT: Women face a higher lifetime risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. The menopausal transition, characterized by a decline in estrogen levels, may affect cholesterol metabolism and neurodegenerative processes. Oxysterols, oxidized cholesterol derivatives, play a role in these pathways, with 24(S)-hydroxycholesterol (24HC) reflecting brain cholesterol turnover and 27-hydroxycholesterol (27HC) linked to systemic cholesterol metabolism. We investigated associations of plasma oxysterols with circulating sex hormones and characteristics of reproductive history in 1,974 postmenopausal women with no history of dementia from the Women's Health Initiative, taking into account APOE4 status and cholesterol-lowering medication. We found that hig

SUBMITTER: Dunk MM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12863040 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature