How to Halt Alzheimer’s Progression
VITAMIN B SUPPLEMENTS COULD HALT ALZHEIMER’S PROGRESSION
A study found that supplementing the diet with large doses of vitamin B could cut the brain shrinkage by a third to a half common in elderly people with early signs of the disease and could slow, or even halt, the memory-robbing disease’s progression. Researchers stressed the need for further study to confirm these results but described the study outcome as “striking” and “dramatic.”
Over a two-year period half of the168 volunteers (all over the age of 70) had been diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and were given high daily doses of the B vitamins folate, B6 and B12, higher doses than normally found in supplements or diet.
On average, compared to the group that received only placebo pills with no active ingredients, B-taking volunteers exhibited an average 30 percent lower degree of brain shrinkage, which is associated with atrophy; but in some cases, the reduced amount of atrophy was lower by as much as fifty percent. The study was released September 8, 2010 by the online journal Public Library of Science ONE and can be accessed free online at: http://bit.ly/btsJCl.
Vitamin D & Mental Agility
Cognitive performance is much improved among the elderly who are not deficient in vitamin D, and vitamin D deficiency may be common among shut-in seniors due to limited access to sunshine and other factors, according to a new study.
More than 1,000 study participants who were receiving home care were assessed for vitamin D status. Only 35 percent of participants had sufficient vitamin D levels and this group scored higher on cognitive performance tests than those who were deficient or insufficient in vitamin D. Pathways for vitamin D have been identified in the hippocampus and cerebellum areas of the brain; these are regions associated with planning, processing new information and forming new memories, suggesting vitamin D is important to the cognitive process and for independent senior living.
The study was released by the journal titled, Journals of Gerontology, Series A, Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, in a summary format. But it is available in full-text format at: http://bit.ly/d2FtYY.