Vitamin E Improves Brain Function

Vitamin E Improves Brain Function

A randomized, double-blind, multicenter study involving 341 patients
revealed that treatment with vitamin E or with selegiline delayed
progression of the Alzheimer's, including "delays in the deterioration of the
performance of activities of daily living and the need for care." During the
two-year study, patients received a monoamine oxidase inhibitor called
selegiline, 2000 IU per day of vitamin E, both treatments, or a placebo.
According to the authors of this study, "there is evidence that medications
or vitamins that increase the levels of brain catecholamines and protect
against oxidative damage may reduce the neuronal damage and slow the
progression of Alzheimer¡¯s disease." Read the abstract on the New England
Journal of Medicine website.

In a longterm study of more than 3000 Japanese-American men over 70
years of age living in Hawaii, researchers found that the use of vitamin C
and vitamin E supplements significantly reduced the risk of dementia. In
those without dementia, use of vitamin C or vitamin E supplements was
associated with improved cognitive function. Read the abstract in the
journal, Neurology, online.

There is evidence to suggest that oxidative stress plays a role in the
development of Alzheimer¡¯s disease, and there is clear evidence of
oxidative damage in the brains of patients with the disease. A clinical trial
of vitamin E and selegiline in patients with moderate Alzheimer¡¯s disease
showed that these treatments slowed the rate of functional decline to a
significant degree. The results raise the question whether vitamin E might
also delay the decline in patients with milder cases of Alzheimer¡¯s disease,
"and whether it may prevent dementia in elderly individuals who are
minimally or not yet cognitively impaired." The Alzheimer¡¯s Disease
Cooperative Study has initiated an additional trial to determine whether
vitamin E can prevent or delay development of Alzheimer¡¯s disease in
patients with mild cognitive impairment. Read the abstract on the Journal
of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrtition website.

The July 1, 2004 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine included
antioxidant supplements in a review of therapies for the treatment of
Alzheimer¡¯s disease. The review noted that studies have shown the most
widely administered antioxidant therapy, which uses vitamin E with the
drug selegiline, can help delay placement in a nursing home, the
development of severe dementia, and death, better than a placebo. The
review states that many doctors have added daily supplementation of 2000
IU of vitamin E to their standard Alzheimer¡¯s treatment because of the
study results. Also noted in the review were results showing that a
combination of vitamin E with a cholinesterase inhibitor was safe and
beneficial. Overall, the review article indicates that there is strong evidence
that vitamin E and vitamin C can play a role in delaying the onset of
Alzheimer¡¯s disease. Additionally, ginkgo biloba was mentioned as having
statistically significant results compared with placebo, and it was noted that
a primary-prevention trial testing the efficacy of ginkgo in reducing the rate
of Alzheimer¡¯s disease development is underway. Read the abstract on the
NIH PubMed website.