People are often advised to try to keep up their levels of so-called good cholesterol to reduce their risk of heart disease. But high levels may also help prevent a decline in memory, a new study says.

    Researchers found that people with more high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, known as HDL, did better on memory tests than people with lower levels did. The study, led by Archana Singh-Manoux, appears in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, an American Heart Association Journal.

    The researchers checked the cholesterol levels of more than 3,600 British civil servants and gave them memory tests at an average age of 55 and again at 61. For the tests, volunteers were read a list of 20 words and then asked to write down as many as they could remember within two minutes.

    Not only did those with higher HDL do better than other people, those whose HDL levels declined between tests also saw a decline in their performance.

    人們往往被告知，要設法保持他們所謂良性膽固醇的高的水平，以減少患心臟病的危險。而一項新的研究說，高水平的良性膽固醇也可能有助于防止記憶減退。

    研究人員們發現，具有更多高密度脂蛋白膽固醇——稱之為 HDL——的人，在記憶測試中，比具有較低水平的人做得更好一些。這項由阿切納 辛格-瑪勞克斯領導的研究，發表在美國心臟協會的期刊‘動脈粥樣硬化、血栓和血管生物學’上。

    研究人員們檢查了膽固醇水平超過 3,600 的英國公務員，并且在平均年齡 55 歲時以及再次在平均年齡 61 歲時給他們進行記憶測試。在這項測試中，向志愿人員宣讀了一份 20 個字的單子，然后要求他們在兩分鐘內盡可能多地將他們可能記得的寫下來。

    不僅那些具有較高 HDL 的人做得比其他人好一些，那些在兩次測試之間 HDL 水平下降的人，也看到了他們的成績下降。