When it comes to your risk of getting Alzheimer's disease (AD), there are simply so many things that we have little, or no, control over. For example, according to epidemiological evidence at least, the following factors place you at risk: inheriting a bad set of AD-related genes, having elevated blood cholesterol, developing diabetes, having a small head circumference, being short, being female, not having arthritis, religious-related abstinence from alcohol, having a large round belly, etc. Since we are not all lucky enough to be born as tall, thin, arthritic, martini-loving females who have large circumference heads, what hope is there for the average guy today?

As is true for so many recent scientific advancements related to understanding and avoiding Alzheimer's disease, the story is a little complicated, but there is hope. A study published in the medical journal Neurology last week discovered that men tend to develop a condition called Mild Cognitive Impairment (now often thought to be the harbinger of AD) at a higher rate than to similarly aged women. Two other factors are worth highlighting: men who had never been married or had less than nine years of education were also at greater risk than the more educated and/or married men. Epidemiological evidence has already indicated that married men tend to live longer and happier lives, now we can add less demented lives to this list as well. Who knew that women were the antidote for age-related male cognitive decline?