Article Name: Vitamin B12 May Reduce Risk of Alzheimer's Disease
Source: Sciencedaily.com (Online Magazine)
Date of Publication: October 18, 2010
Website Address: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/10/101018162922.htm
Summary:
The article “Vitamin B12 May Reduce Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease “explains how new studies show that the Vitamin B12 may protect against the disease. The research supporting the study will be published in the October 19, 2010 issue of Neurology. This particular study took seven years. Researchers took blood samples from Finnish people between the ages of 65 and 79 who did not have dementia at the beginning of the study. “During that time, 17 people developed Alzheimer's disease. Blood samples were tested for levels for homocysteine, an amino acid associated with vitamin B12, and for levels of the active portion of the vitamin, called holotranscobalamin. Too much homocysteine in the blood has been linked to negative effects on the brain, such as stroke. However, higher levels of vitamin B12 can lower homocysteine”. More study’s still need to be completed before the vitamin B12 is used as a supplement to protect memory.
Comments:
I feel that this article may be very helpful to many people. Many elderly people suffer from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease and this new discover could be very helpful for them. I think that the more the study progresses the more helpful it will be.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010- Lamina Buster
This research hits home for me because Alzheimer's disease runs in my family on my mothers side. My great grandfather and my grandfather both had it.
ReplyDeleteThe questions the research brings up in my mind is 1. How much more research will need to be done to make sure this information is accurate? 2. Will the vitamin B12 be enough to cure/prevent Alzheimer's?
Alzheimer's disease is progressive brain disorder that damages and destroys brain cells leading to memory loss. This research has taken 7 years and this was a very small study. Also, this new study supports the role of vitamins but other studies have had different results. Other studies have found that vitamin B12 deficiency is a common condition of the elderly.
Alzheimer drugs that are already on the market do no more than mask the symptoms but do not treat the actual disease. A new drug would need to be able to treat the disease and stop or delay the damaging of cells. The vitamin B12 study found that brain shrinkage was slowed. This means the development of the disease can be slowed down. Of course, more trails need o be done to conclude that Vitamin B12 can slow or prevent Alzheimer's.
This study will be wonderful if the conclusion is true. If Alzheimer's can be prevented or slowed by eating foods such as eggs, fish, poultry, and other meats. People who have a history of this disease in their family can start a early prevention by eating those foods.
Question: This hits home for me, because I've undergone vitamin-B-12 treatments due to my homocystinuria. Everything you've just said is true; however, I have to wonder how homocysteine can really affect an elderly brain. I was under the impression that homocysteine levels varied only in people who didn't have the ability to digest that enzyme - meaning, people who had two copies of the CBS gene.
ReplyDeleteIs it possible that similar treatments used for homocystinuria - such as different diets, B-12 treatments, things like that - could successfully treat Alzheimers?
Answer: This hasn't been studied yet, so I don't know.
This article is a very helpful resource for people and their families that are suffering or dealing with a family member with Alzheimers. My great grandmother is 96 and she is dying from Alzheimers disease. It is really hard to cope with the fact that one day she knows you and the next day she barely knows your name. My family has been dealing with this for over 3 years and it has only gotten worser over time. They have her on all kinds of medication but we know that this disease will be what takes her life. This cure that they are trting to come up with will be very effective for families that are dealing with the same issue. I know that this study prolly want be complete in time to help my grandmother, but it will be able to help save the life of another childs grandmother. Alzheimers is something thnat slowly takes away your memory and makes you lose all knowledge of life, but if you have family that helps you through this it makes the coping easier to deal with.
ReplyDeleteI am the one who wrote the comment above - the one entitled "TheNobody?" Yeah. Sorry about that... I'll copy and paste it here.
ReplyDelete"Question: This hits home for me, because I've undergone vitamin-B-12 treatments due to my homocystinuria. Everything you've just said is true; however, I have to wonder how homocysteine can really affect an elderly brain. I was under the impression that homocysteine levels varied only in people who didn't have the ability to digest that enzyme - meaning, people who had two copies of the CBS gene.
Is it possible that similar treatments used for homocystinuria - such as different diets, B-12 treatments, things like that - could successfully treat Alzheimers?
Answer: This hasn't been studied yet, so I don't know. "