Metabolic Syndrome Linked to Dementia in Study
(Chicago, Reuters, 11/9/04)

When Dr. Kristine Yaffe of the University of California, San Francisco, and team, studied 2,600 elderly adults, the researchers found that subjects who had metabolic syndrome were 20% more likely to suffer from mental impairment than their peers. Metabolic syndrome symptoms include hypertension, elevated blood sugar, high triglycerides, low levels of HDL (“good”) cholesterol and abdominal obesity. For subjects who had this syndrome, the risk of dementia was heightened by elevated blood levels of interleukin 6 and C-reactive protein, which are markers for inflammation. These findings suggest that cognitive impairment in seniors may be curbed by controlling inflammation and/or preventing metabolic syndrome.

(Journal of the American Medical Association, Nov. 2004)