Add this to the trouble surrounding high cholesterol: Having it could lead to development of osteoarthritis.

New research done with mice and rats makes the connection: High cholesterol can trigger stress on cartilage cells, which die, and in turn, leads to arthritis. The results were published in the journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB).

The first test was done with mice. Scientists introduced a genetically altered gene which gave them high cholesterol.

The rats were fed a high-cholesterol diet, which caused diet-induced high cholesterol.

Some in each group were then fed either a high-cholesterol diet or a normal diet.

All were then given knee injuries via surgery to spur arthritis. Both the mice and the rats that were fed the high-cholesterol diets showed more severe osteoarthritis development than seen in the normal diet group.

When both the mice and the rats were given the cholesterol-lowering drug atorvastatin and mitochondrion-targeted antioxidants, the development of osteoarthritis decreased in relation to the untreated groups.

"Just when we thought all the angles on osteoarthritis had been uncovered, a new lead like this comes along," said Thoru Pederson, editor-in-chief of the journal. "The focus of hypercholesterolemia [high cholesterol], whether familial or sporadic, has, of course, always been on arterial disease; but here we have a fascinating new discovery."