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A healthy lifestyle may help to prevent dementia as well as problems such as heart disease and diabetes, a new report says. The report comes from Alzheimer’s Disease International. It is being issued in advance of World Alzheimer’s Day, September 21. The report focuses on factors related to dementia risk that people can control. The main message: “What is good for your heart is good for your brain.” Some of the strongest links between health conditions and dementia include high blood pressure in middle age and smoking and diabetes at any age. For example, diabetes may increase the risk of dementia 50%, the report says. Quitting smoking lowers risk. The report’s authors reviewed research on smoking and dementia. They found that ex-smokers have a dementia risk similar to those who have never smoked.

A new drug may reduce flu symptoms faster than current treatments, two studies suggest. The new drug is peramivir. It is given as a single injection. The studies included a total of 427 adults. They were randomly assigned to receive either peramivir or a placebo (fake) injection. Those who got the real drug were symptom-free 22 hours sooner than those who got the placebo. They were fever-free 24 hours sooner. They were also less contagious than the other group within 2 days after treatment began. The most common current influenza treatment is oseltamivir (Tamiflu). Oseltamivir is a pill taken twice a day. It shortens symptoms by about 12 hours. Both of these flu drugs must be given within 48 hours of when symptoms start. Study results were presented at a conference. HealthDay News wrote about them September 6.