Good Health Of The Heart Protects Against Alzheimer's Disease

Good Health Of The Heart Protects Against Alzheimer's Disease.
Sticking to a heart-healthy lifestyle may also quarter off Alzheimer's disease, according to a late study that suggests that raising "good" cholesterol levels can helper prevent the brain disorder in older people. The study, published in the December edition of Archives of Neurology, found that people who had low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) or "good" cholesterol had a 60 percent greater endanger of developing Alzheimer's blight after the age of 65 than those who had high levels. Cholesterol is a waxy substance composed of "good and bad" cholesterol and triglycerides found in the bloodstream.

More than 50 percent of the US citizens has high levels of "bad" cholesterol, according to the study. "Our memorize suggests that high HDL levels 'good' cholesterol are associated with a decrease risk for Alzheimer's disease," said Dr Christiane Reitz, the study's author. "Ways to enhancement HDL levels include losing weight if overweight, aerobic irritate and a healthy diet".

By treating problems with cholesterol levels, "we can debase the incidence of Alzheimer's disease in the population". Some medications, such as statins, fibrates and niacin, that are in use to lower "bad" cholesterol also raise "good" cholesterol an assistant professor of neurology at Columbia University's Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease in New York City. More than 5 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease, the most banal ceremony of dementia, and those numbers could triple by 2050, according to vigorousness officials.

The US National Institutes of Health reports that about 5 percent of Americans between the ages of 65 and 74 have late-onset Alzheimer's disease, the more commonplace form of the disorder, and the control increases with age. By age 85, nearly 50 percent of the population develops the disease, according to the agency.

Early-onset Alzheimer's, a excellent form of the disease, begins in middle age and runs in families. Late-onset Alzheimer's has a genetic component influenced by lifestyle factors, according to the agency. There is no prescription for Alzheimer's disease, but a few drugs can hand reduce symptoms for a time, according to experts.

However, people can jibe their risk by reducing their intake of trans-fats and increasing monounsaturated fats that keep "good" cholesterol high-priced and "bad" cholesterol low noting that drinking moderate amounts of alcohol also helps. Foods elated in monounsaturated fats include vegetable oils, avocados, peanut butter and many nuts and seeds.

The 1130 scrutinize participants were drawn from a random sample of Medicare recipients in New York City. The participants were screened for Alzheimer's, and those with symptoms were excluded. Screening for the about began in 1999 and follow-ups were conducted every 18 months until the information was analyzed in 2010.

Participants also underwent a battery of tests measuring noetic functions, such as memory, language processing, visual-spatial briefing and executive function. Executive function allows people to comprehend instructions and unmitigated a given task. During the study, 101 cases of Alzheimer's disease were identified, at an average length of existence of 83 years.

One weakness of the research is that it was conducted among elderly residents of an urban community with a anticyclone prevalence of risk factors, such as obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, according to the study. The findings may not make application to a younger, healthier population.

One expert on the disease, Catherine M Roe of Washington University in St Louis, said it was already known that "good" cholesterol benefits the heart, but this bone up shows "an additional rationale to make sure we live a healthy lifestyle. These results are grave because they suggest that an increase in HDL cholesterol may also help ward off Alzheimer's disease," said Roe, a on assistant professor at the school's Knight Alzheimer's Disease Research Center.

The haunt is strong because it used a large random sample of elderly people. But she cautioned that the results be in want of to be duplicated. However, "since the authors did not find an effect of HDL cholesterol in their previous, alike study, I think we have to be cautious about these results until they are also demonstrated in other samples". In putting together to eating a healthy diet, getting exercise and losing weight as recommended by Reitz, Roe said that quitting smoking could better people increase levels of "good" cholesterol herpeset. "I over it's a great idea to talk with your doctor about what you specifically can do to live the healthiest lifestyle you can," Roe suggested.