DorlandHealth

A group of studies conducted around the country shows that three conditions often related — obesity, diabetes and heart disease — can raise the risk of dementia and cognitive decline in elders. The first study, conducted by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, observed nearly 5,000 women who began the study at the average age of 66 with no cognitive impairment. Researchers reported that obesity, high blood pressure and low levels of HDL, or “good,” cholesterol were each associated with a 23 percent increase in risk for dementia. A second study conducted by the same group found a correlation between obesity in men and cognitive decline. A third study conducted by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center found that people with higher levels of LDL, or “bad,” cholesterol and diabetes experienced a faster cognitive decline than their peers without those factors. The takeaway, according to researchers, is the potential impact of lifestyle changes in one’s 40s or 50s on later functioning.

A new pill — containing three types of medication — can reduce the chance of heart  disease and stroke in patients exhibiting common risk factors for the ailments, according  to a study by Canadian researchers. Combining Aspirin, blood-pressure medication  and cholesterol-lowering medication, the Polycap, as it is known, makes it easier for patients  to take their medicine and is cheaper to manufacture than pills taken separately. The study monitored  more than 2,000 people with at least one risk factor for heart disease, including high blood pressure,  high cholesterol, obesity, smoking or type 2 diabetes, 400 of whom took the combined medication with the  rest taking individual doses. The results showed a similar decrease in risk for patients in both groups.

Two studies investigating high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) have found traces of mercury in the oft-used sweetener. The first, published in Environmental Health, detected mercury in nearly 50 percent of commercial HFCS. Even in trace amounts, mercury is a toxic chemical, say researchers from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, the organization involved in both studies. The second study revealed mercury to be present in one-third of 55 popular brand-name foods, most common in dairy products, dressings and condiments that contained HFCS. Researchers worry about the amount of products containing HFCS consumed by children.

It is possible, say researchers from Duke University and California Pacific Medical Center. The relationship that is grabbing attention is between the common herpes virus cytomegalovirus, or CMV, which is dormant in approximately 80 percent of the population, and brain cancer. Early research found a strong link between CMV and the existence of brain tumors, and more recent findings have confirmed the work. One theory is that CMV may trigger inflammation, which in turn may eventually lead to cancer. If so, brain cancer may be treated in much the same way as cervical cancer is treated with the Gardasil vaccine.