Short Takes - 2005-01-25

What's bad for the heart may be bad for the brain, too. A study of 9,000 people by the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland found that those who have high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes or who smoke in midlife have a much higher risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. For example, those with high cholesterol were 42% more likely to develop dementia. Those with all four risk factors had more than double the risk of Alzheimer's.