(June 26, 2011 - Insidermedicine) From Germany - A new report published in Neurology identifies a biomarker that may assist in the early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers studied nearly 60 individuals with mild cognitive impairment, finding that measuring the tau protein in the cerebrospinal fluid in combination with the persons age was approx. 80% accurate in predicting who would develop Alzheimer's disease.  From Australia - Smoking while pregnant may lower good cholesterol levels in the child, according to a report published in European Heart Journal. Studying over 400 children since birth, researchers found that by age 8, children born to mothers who smoked during pregnancy had noticeably lower HDL cholesterol levels than children whose mothers did not smoke during pregnancy. And finally, from California - A new report published in Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions examines the safety of angioplasty with stents in low risk heart patients. Researchers studied over 200 patients with left main coronary artery disease but with normal artery function. Results showed that stenting had favourable outcomes in these patients in reducing their risk of cardiac death.