Lack of 'Good' HDL Cholesterol Linked to Memory Loss

If you are predisposed to Alzheimer's by birth you might want to take a close look at this article and vdieo.

My mother falls into this category so it does concern me.

clipped from health.usnews.com News today that low levels of the "good" HDL cholesterol raises a person's risk of memory loss and memory loss and dementia may send many folks rushing to their doctor for a cholesterol check. Indeed, the findings are pretty scary. Study participants with the lowest HDL levels—defined as less than 40 mg/dL—were 53 percent more likely to perform poorly on short-term memory tests compared to those with high HDL, defined as 60 mg/dL or greater. (These healthy participants were age 61, on average, experiencing the earliest signs of dementia that typically start in middle age.) Those whose HDL levels plunged over the six-year study also experienced a decrease in the number of words they were able to recall on the memory test, says study leader Archana Singh-Manoux, senior research fellow in epidemiology at the University College London. Video: Cholesterol: The Good and the Bad