There's good news and bad news for people with the metabolic syndrome who are worried about their mental capabilities and Alzheimer's disease. The syndrome is a cluster of risk factors - high blood pressure, overweight, low HDL-cholesterol, and raised fasting glucose. I'll give you the bad news first.

It's been accepted for some time that the metabolic syndrome increases the risk of 'cognitive dysfunction' and dementia. A new study reported in the journal Diabetes Care examined over 1000 elders in Amsterdam, Netherlands, to see which component of the metabolic syndrome is mainly responsible for mental decline.

The participants were between 65 and 88, with 36% of them defined as having the metabolic syndrome. A raised fasting blood sugar was most strongly and significantly linked to worsened mental functioning. Although not included in the original definition of the syndrome, a relatively high degree of inflammation in the body - as measured by C-reactive protein (CRP) levels - was also linked to cognitive decline. Overall, the relationship between metabolic syndrome and a decline in mental function was confirmed for these subjects.

And now the good news. If you make it through to 85, there's quite a change. In another part of the Netherlands (Leiden , actually) a study done in 600 'oldest-old' aged 85-90 has been published in the journal Neurology. It shows that cognitive function does not decline in these very old subjects with the metabolic syndrome. In fact, presence of the syndrome was link with a slowing of the natural mental decline in these advanced years. The authors of the study say that the concept of the metabolic syndrome may be less valid in this age group. Before getting too excited by these findings, remember that they were obtained in the Netherlands , where lifestyles are a bit different from those in the USA . Maybe a similar study in the oldest-old in the USA wouldn't produce the same results ...