If you want to remain healthy, eat more fruit and vegetables and less red meat. But scientists now say such a diet also may help prevent Alzheimer`s disease. In reality, scale data signify the risk factors for heart disease - high blood pressure, diabetes, excess weight, high cholesterol and lack of exercise - may play a role in Alzheimer`s.
Alzheimer`s is a degenerative brain disease that causes memory loss, disorientation, depression and decay of bodily functions, private news channel reported The biggest risk for Alzheimer`s is simply age: Alzheimer`s cases double with every five years of age between 65 and 85.
Three other studies to be presented at the conference in Stockholm, the largest gathering ever of Alzheimer`s researchers, bolster evidence that taking cholesterol-lowering drugs could reduce the chances of developing Alzheimer`s. The largest study to investigate the connection and the first to include large numbers of black people, who are disproportionately likely to develop Alzheimer`s. The study also found that types of cholesterol-lowering drugs other than statins were not linked with a reduced risk of Alzheimer`s.
High cholesterol can narrow the arteries and raise the risk of heart disease. Some researchers think high cholesterol may also affect brain arteries and promote the clumping of the protein beta-amyloid, which is thought to damage the brain in Alzheimer`s.
"In the general population, people taking statins to reduce their blood cholesterol, for whatever reason, have a 70 percent reduction rate for Alzheimer`s."
"Having the ability to quantify amyloid deposition in the brain will have a profound impact on our ability to monitor the progression of Alzheimer`s as well as gauge the effectiveness of medical treatments," said Alzheimer`s Association.