Iron, Atherosclerosis, and Neurodegeneration: A Key Role for Cholesterol in Promoting Iron-Dependent Oxidative Damage?

: 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.