B-complex vitamins may help slow progression of dementia

Large doses of B-complex vitamins could reduce the rate of brain shrinkage by half in elderly people with memory problems and slow the progression of dementia.take vitamins today

A two-year clinical trial in England has shown that B vitamins, including B-6, B-12 and folic acid, slow down mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a condition which is a major risk factor for Alzheimer disease and other forms of dementia.

Dr. Gustavo C. Román, medical director of the Alzheimer & Dementia Center at the Methodist Neurological Institute in Houston, said that patients who already exhibit signs of dementia and test positive for high levels of homocysteine are more likely to respond well to the large doses of B vitamins. Homocysteine is an amino acid in the blood, and high blood levels are linked to an increased risk of developing Alzheimer disease.

Román has seen the impact of these B vitamins in his patients and found that injections of B-complex vitamins are more effective than oral supplements.

"I'm not saying that everyone who takes B vitamins will prevent dementia," Roman said. "But in the right dosage and for the appropriate patients, the vitamin B-12 treatment could be a step toward modifying disease progression."

Approximately 50 percent of people diagnosed with MCI go on to develop Alzheimer disease within five years. More than five million Americans are estimated to have Alzheimer disease, the most common form of dementia. Román said it is time to seek a medical professional if you notice the following signs that could be symptoms for Alzheimer's:

Forgetting recently learned information
Problems with planning and/or solving problems, as working with numbers becoming increasingly difficult
Great difficulty in completing daily tasks
Losing track of the time or day; confusion about being in a particular location, like not remembering how they got there
Difficulty reading and/or judging distances, depth perception, etc.
Language problems that arise when speaking or writing
Misplacing items and not being able to retrace steps to recover them
Loss of skills in judgment making
Social withdrawal
Noticeable changes in mood and personality, irritability, aggression
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Materials provided by Methodist Hospital, Houston. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Scientists discover new role for vitamin C in the eye and the brain

Scientists discover new role for vitamin C in the eye and the brain Nerve cells in the eye require vitamin C in order to function properly -- a surprising discovery that may mean vitamin C is required elsewhere in the brain for its proper functioning, according to a study by scientists at Oregon Health & Science University recently published in the Journal of Neuroscience. "We found that cells in the retina need to be 'bathed' in relatively high doses of vitamin C, inside and out, to function properly," said Henrique von Gersdorff, Ph.D., a senior scientist at OHSU's Vollum Institute and a co-author of the study. "Because the retina is part of the central nervous system, this suggests there's likely an important role for vitamin C throughout our brains, to a degree we had not realized before." The brain has special receptors, called GABA-type receptors, that help modulate the rapid communication between cells in the brain. GABA recep...

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