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Hi Mary

Like you, I've always understood that being mentally active has no bearing
on AD (that's a good phrase - "an equal opportunity illness"), but came
across this article the other day, which I found interesting:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200501/s1288435.htm
Risk factors for Alzheimer's, heart disease similar
US researchers say people who have high blood pressure, cholesterol,
diabetes or who smoke in midlife have a much higher risk of developing
Alzheimer's disease later on.

The more factors a person has, the higher the risk.

People with all four risk factors have more than double the risk of
Alzheimer's, the team at the Kaiser Permanent Division of Research in
Oakland, California found.

"The message is that the risk factors that are bad for the heart are bad for
the brain," Dr Marilyn Albert said, chair of scientific and medical research
at the non-profit Alzheimer's Association.

"That largely is because what happens to blood vessels in the heart is the
same as what happens to blood vessels in the brain," he said, whose group
was not involved in the study.

For the report, published in the journal Neurology, Rachel Whitmer and
colleagues studied nearly 9,000 people living in northern California.

The men and women from various ethnic groups were followed for 27 years.

Those with diabetes at age 40 to 45 were 46 per cent more likely to develop
dementia later on.

People with high cholesterol were 42 per cent more likely to develop
dementia while those with high blood pressure were 24 per cent more likely.

Smokers were 26 per cent more likely to develop dementia.

Smokers with diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol were more
than twice as likely to develop dementia, Ms Whitmer and colleagues
reported.

People who were treated for their conditions lowered their overall risk of
Alzheimer's, however.

"The real strength of our study is the large, multi-ethnic cohort of men and
women, followed up for 27 years, all with equal access to medical care," Ms
Whitmer said.

A team at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia reports in the Public
Library of Science this month that taking statin drugs, which lower
cholesterol, also reduces the risk of Alzheimer's.

Heart experts believe the drugs not only reduce cholesterol levels but
somehow also keep the linings of blood vessels healthy.

Doctors say the prescriptions for avoiding heart disease and for lowering
the risk of Alzheimer's are similar - eat plenty of fresh fruits and
vegetables and nuts, and exercise daily.

The Alzheimer's Association advocates mental and physical exercise to help
lower the risk of the deadly and incurable brain disease.

"We can't prevent it but we can do an awful lot in our daily life to reduce
risk," Dr Albert said.

Physical, mental and social activity all seem to be important, she said.

Studies in the December issue of Neurology showed people who exercised and
who had social connections had less risk of mental decline.

Caz