Proof of a connection between Alzheimer's Disease and high cholesterol levels could change the way doctors counsel their older patients, researcher Rudolf Tanzi reported yesterday at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) meeting.
If additional evidence confirms the Alzheimer's-cholesterol connection, genetic testing of patients with high cholesterol levels may help doctors diagnose Alzheimer's at earlier stages, said Tanzi, a professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School.
"In the past, I would have said no to the test, but if it can be shown that high cholesterol predisposes a person to Alzheimer's, I'd be willing to suggest testing for Alzheimer's risk," Tanzi said during the AAAS Advancing Science seminar.
"That's empowering you to change your lifestyle. If you can't empower someone, especially with a test for Alzheimer's, then you might make someone falsely confident or falsely anxious."
Tanzi's update on the brain disease affecting 4 million Americans was presented during the AAAS seminar focusing on "Human Health Frontiers."
Nutrition was also discussed during the meeting which covered other subjects such as research efforts to combat bioterrorism and new approaches for addressing chronic human conditions such as depression, substance abuse, cancer and spinal cord injury.
A Harvard University scientist turned the US Department of Agriculture's food pyramid upside down by urging consumption of certain oils as a foundation of all healthy diets, and putting pasta and white rice in the same category as chocolate, cake and ice cream.
"When you replace the fat in your diet with carbohydrates, your good cholesterol goes down, and you get higher levels of heart disease," said Walter Willett, Fredrick John Stare Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health.
Instead, Willett said, a balanced diet should include oils, especially canola, soy and others that contain Omega 3, an essential fatty acid, as well as nuts, legumes and fruits and vegetables. Except for whole grains, he said, all carbohydrates should be eaten sparingly.
The AAAS Office of Public Programs can be contacted at (202) 326-6431. The organisation also publishes the weekly journal Science.