Linking Alzheimer's and Cholesterol

It turns out that there may be a link between Alzheimer's disease and high cholesterol. According to a study by researchers in Finland, Sweden, and California, people in their early 40s with cholesterol levels between 249 and 500 milligrams per deciliter are about 1½ times as likely to develop Alzheimer's later in life as those whose levels are below 198 mg. The higher risk associated with the artery-clogging lipids appears to be independent of other risk factors like obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure, says coauthor Alina Solomon, a research scientist at Finland's University of Kuopio. Meantime, researchers at Baylor College of Medicine have found that Alzheimer's patients taking high doses of vitamin E had mortality rates 26 percent lower than those who didn't take supplements. Previous research has found that a diet rich in green leafy vegetables, nuts, whole grains, fruits, and some eggs—all sources of vitamin E—seems to lower the risk of getting Alzheimer's disease.