Study: Vitamin B may slow Alzheimer's

A recent study shows that high doses of B vitamins may dramatically slow brain shrinkage and help protect people from Alzheimer’s.

A team from the Oxford Project to investigate Memory and Ageing (Optima) looked at 168 elderly people experiencing mild cognitive impairment –which involves mild memory lapses and language problems beyond what is normally associated with ageing. Half of the volunteers in the study took levels higher than the recommended daily amount of the B vitamins folate, B6 and B12, and the rate of brain shrinkage was measured after two years. Brains shrink at a rate of about 0.5 per cent a year after the age of 60. In those with mild cognitive impairment it is twice as fast, while shrinkage takes place at 2.5 per cent a year with Alzheimer's patients. BBC News reported that, on average, those taking the vitamins had brain shrinkage slowed by 30 per cent, and more than 50 per cent in some cases. Folic acid, vitamin B6 and B12 control homocysteine in the blood. High levels of this amino acid are associated with brain shrinkage and Alzheimer's. "It's a bigger effect than anyone could have predicted, and it's telling us something biological," BBC News quoted Professor David Smith, the author of the study, as saying. "These vitamins are doing something to the brain structure - they're protecting it, and that's very important because we need to protect the brain to prevent Alzheimer's." He said more research must be done to determine whether the vitamins prevent the development of Alzheimer's. Chris Kennard, chair of the Medical Research Council's Neurosciences and Mental Health Board, was quoted by BBC News as saying: "We must be cautious when recommending supplements like vitamin B as there are separate health risks if taken in too high doses. "Further research is required before we can recommend the supplement as a treatment for neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's." The study was published in the Public Library of Science One journal.