Cancer, Chemo May Lower Alzheimer's Risk, Study Suggests

If battling a deadly disease can be said to have a silver lining, this might be it: Many forms of cancer appear to lower the risk for developing Alzheimer's disease, new research suggests.

After sifting through the health records of nearly 3.5 million patients, investigators concluded that most kinds of cancer seem to confer some degree of protection against Alzheimer's, reducing risk of the age-related brain disorder by anywhere from 9 percent to 51 percent.