Elderly people who avoid dementia despite having high cholesterol may hold the key to finding a cure, say scientists.
Researchers at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, found over-85s with good brain function whose cholesterol had increased since middle age were a 32 percent less likely to suffer mental decline.
Scientists admit they were left perplexed by the paradox, since cholesterol is known to be bad for cognition in old age.