Cholesterol Contributes to ALD Cerebral Inflammation

 

-Article Published in Nature Communications

 

 

A research team led by Physiology Professor Dong Wook Kim and Microbiology Professor Je-Wook Yu has discovered that the aberrant production of the cholesterol 25-HC contributes to cerebral inflammation in patients suffering from ALD. ALD is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that results in seizures, loss of muscle control, progressive dementia, and, eventually, death or permanent disability. The results of the team’s research were published in Nature Communications with the title “25-hydroxycholesterol contributes to cerebral inflammation of X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy through activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome.”

 

This discovery provides hope for the development of more effective treatments for ALD. Professors Kim and Yu explained: “Because 25-HC has been revealed as the inducer of cerebral inflammation, the factors contributing to this process can now become the potential target of innovative new drugs seeking to prevent lethal cerebral inflammation.”