Bad News, Worse News
By Mark D. Marotta
There are just some days when all you get is bad news. And then it only gets worse.
A few weeks ago, my doctor told me that I have to start taking cholesterol medicine, because my blood test showed my triglycerides or some such thing were too high. It was a bullet I had tried to dodge for years, by eating lots of vegetables and trying to get at least a modicum of exercise. My efforts apparently had been in vain, however.
Having to go onto to the medication put me in a pretty dour mood, which is saying a lot, because my mood is usually pretty dour to begin with. For one thing, the reported side effects (including possible liver damage) of the medicine I have to take are frankly scary sounding. But even without taking that into consideration, the whole thing got me feeling much, much older than I used to.
My mood only worsened after I came upon a news item reporting that adults with even moderately elevated cholesterol levels in middle age are at an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease. A study of 9,844 people over a four-decade period found that close to 600 had developed either Alzheimer's or vascular dementia, a related condition. A high range of cholesterol at the start of the study was associated with a 66-percent increase in the risk of Alzheimer's. Borderline high cholesterol raised the risk of vascular dementia by 52 percent. According to the study's lead author, controlling heart disease risk factors, including cholesterol, can reduce the risk of dementia. I don't know if she happened to mention whether sticking to your cholesterol medicine is one way to get yourself off the hook. Here's hoping.
There has recently been other news about Alzheimer's disease. According to one report , amyloid protein clumps that are characteristic of Alzheimer's begin affecting memory long before the disease's symptoms do. Another study has found that biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid may accurately identify people with mild cognitive disease who may be more likely to develop Alzheimer's.
On the somewhat bright side, I guess, another news item reported that there may be evidence that taking anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen, may help prevent Alzheimer's. But the article also quoted a couple of experts who pointed out that the drugs have side effects and should not be taken just to avoid Alzheimer's.
I'm more hopeful about this report, about a study finding that engaging in activities that stimulate the brain, such as doing puzzles, may help delay the onset of dementia-related memory loss.
Right now, I am wondering if feeling puzzled might, by itself, count for something here.
Now let me go take my pill.
