Good Cholesterol May Cut Women's Dementia Risk

Two Australian studies suggest ways that women can prevent or delay the onset of dementia earlier, reports Futurity . One study , published in Brain Imaging and Behavior , determined a woman's volume of gray matter at the age of 60 predicts her memory performance at 70. Another study in the same publication found women with normal levels of "good" cholesterol, HDL, had less white matter damage in their brain 10 years later when they underwent late-life brain magnetic resonance imaging scans and cognitive evaluations. "Taken together, these findings show there are useful neuroimaging biomarkers for the prediction of cognitive decline in healthy older women," says University of Melbourne Professor Cassandra Szoeke. She notes the inclusion of brain scanning "meant we could measure women's brain pathology alongside cognition over decades, and being able to 'see' the impact of changes in the living brain is a huge leap forward in understanding how dementia develops." Szoeke emphasizes the need for a healthy lifestyle, especially daily physical activity. "Healthy blood vessels reduce our risk of cognitive decline and disease," she says. "This aligns with our knowledge that regular physical activity, normal blood pressure, and maintaining normal levels of HDL cholesterol are all associated with better cognition."