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Diabetes, heart disease, mental function link seen by Heather Woolwine Public Relations At the Ninth Annual International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders (ICAD) sponsored by the Alzheimer’s Association in Philadelphia July 20, Jacobo Mintzer, M.D., MUSC Alzheimer’s Research and Clinical Programs co-director, said that various factors that contribute to diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease also appear to promote a decline in mental function in the elderly.  In a sample of more than 700 men and women as part of the Charleston Heart Study, Mintzer measured diabetes and cardiovascular disease risk factors and correlated these with cognitive health several years after the measurements. He found that the presence of diabetes or high blood sugar increased the risk of later cognitive decline, with a particularly strong effect in African-Americans. The presence of coronary heart disease, high cholesterol, or hypertension also led to more rapid cognitive decline during aging. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, increasing evidence like Mintzer’s suggests that healthy lifestyle habits that manage blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels, and body weight contribute to healthier aging and may also decrease the risk for Alzheimer’s.  Raising “good” cholesterol may protect against dementia Researchers at Harvard University and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston reported on the relationship between cardiovascular risk factors and cognitive function in 4,081 women aged 65 years and older. The researchers correlated performance on a battery of neuropsychological tests with levels of cholesterol and triglycerides determined several years earlier. The only factor that influenced cognitive performance was HDL (good) cholesterol. The researchers found a consistent increase in cognitive health paralleling higher levels of HDL. A less robust correlation was seen for lower levels of LDL (or “bad”) cholesterol and better cognitive performance. Triglyceride levels did not appear to influence cognition.  “These results suggest the possibility that simple, well-established lifestyle modifications to increase HDL levels—increased physical activity, moderate alcohol intake, and high intake of mono-unsaturated fatty acids—could have a substantial public health impact beyond heart disease,” said study author Elizabeth Devore, Ph.D. Some hypertension medicines associated with reduced dementia risk Some blood pressure drugs may reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study presented at ICAD. A number of research studies linked high blood pressure with an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease, and several have suggested that anti-hypertensive medications may reduce this risk. Researcher Ara S. Khachaturian, Ph.D., and colleagues examined data from an ongoing study of memory and aging among more than 3,300 residents aged 65 and over from Cache County, Utah. They found participants who used any type of anti-hypertension medication had a lower risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease. This benefit seemed to be primarily from the use of diuretics. One group of drugs, called potassium-sparing diuretics, was associated with the greatest reduction in Alzheimer risk. The use of other hypertension drugs such as ACE (angiotensin converting enzyme) inhibitors, calcium channel blockers, and beta blockers did not affect Alzheimer risk. “Although these results require replication in other populations, we suggest further investigation into the possible neuroprotective effects of diuretics and potassium-sparing diuretics,” said Khachaturian. Maintain your brain Healthy aging should begin sooner rather than later in life to remain healthy for as long as possible. More research is necessary, especially in the form of prevention trials, but increasing evidence that healthy lifestyle habits such as managing blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels, as well as body weight, contribute to healthier aging and may also decrease the risk for Alzheimer’s.  For information about Alzheimer’s disease, visit http://www.alz.org  or call 800-272-3900. Friday, July 23, 2004 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778.