Daily High-Dose Vitamin E Might Delay Alzheimer's

[WordsintoHarmony]

TUESDAY, Dec. 31, 2013 (HealthDay News) -- There might be some good news in the fight against Alzheimer's disease: A new study suggests that a large daily dose of vitamin E might help slow progression of the memory-robbing illness.

Alzheimer's patients given a "pharmacological" dose of vitamin E experienced slower declines in thinking and memory and required less caregiver time than those taking a placebo, said Dr. Maurice Dysken, lead author of a new study published Dec. 31 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

"We found vitamin E significantly slowed the rate of progression versus placebo," said Dysken, who is with the Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center of the Minneapolis VA Health Care System.

Experts stressed, however, that vitamin E does not seem to fight the underlying cause of Alzheimer's and is in no way a cure.

The study involved more than 600 patients at 14 VA medical centers with mild to moderate Alzheimer's. Researchers split the group into quarters, with each receiving a different therapy.

One-quarter received a daily dose of 2,000 international units (IU) of alpha tocopherol, a form of vitamin E. That's a relatively large dose; by comparison, a daily multivitamin contains only about 100 IUs of vitamin E, Dysken said.

The other sets of patients were given the Alzheimer's medication memantine, a combination of vitamin E and memantine, or a placebo.

People who took vitamin E alone experienced a 19 percent reduction in their annual rate of decline compared to a placebo during the study's average 2.3 years of follow-up, the researchers said.

In practical terms, this means the vitamin E group enjoyed a more than six-month delay in the progression of Alzheimer's, the researchers said.

This delay could mean a lot to patients, the researchers said, noting that the decline experienced by the placebo group could translate into the complete loss of the ability to dress or bathe independently.

The researchers also found that people in the vitamin E group needed about two fewer hours of care each day.

Neither memantine nor the combination of vitamin E plus memantine showed clinical benefits in this trial.

Therapy with vitamin E also appears to be safe, with no increased risk of illness or death, the researchers found. The annual death rate was 7.3 percent for people in the vitamin E group and 9.4 percent for those on placebo.

People should keep in mind, however, that vitamin E taken at such large doses can have an effect on other medications, said Heather Snyder, director of medical and scientific operations for the Alzheimer's Association.

"We know there might be some interactions with other medications that people might be taking, including blood thinners or cholesterol medications," Snyder said. That means that people who want to take vitamin E to treat Alzheimer's should do so under the supervision of their doctor, Dysken and Snyder said.

Snyder said the findings are "certainly positive enough to warrant further research," but she'd like to see the study replicated with another set of patients. The patients in this study were nearly all male, so were not wholly representative of the general public.

Research also needs to be done to figure out why vitamin E helps Alzheimer's patients, both Snyder and Dysken said.

At this point, no one is sure how it helps slow mental decline. The vitamin E used in the study is a fat-soluble antioxidant, but "we don't have a cogent theory why that property should be positive in patients with Alzheimer's disease," Dysken said.

However, such research into treating Alzheimer's might not be as potentially beneficial as studies that focus on preventing the disease altogether, Dr. Denis Evans, of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, wrote in an editorial that accompanied the study.

"This is an excellent trial, and it points out the limitations of finding ways to treat the disease," Evans said. "It's a reasonable argument for putting more emphasis on prevention. If you look at all trials of Alzheimer's disease, of which this is an example of one of the best, the treatment effects are real but they are also relatively small and they focus [only] on the symptoms of the disease."


For more information on vitamin E and Alzheimer's disease, visit the Alzheimer's Association.

SOURCES: Maurice Dysken, M.D., Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Minneapolis VA Health Care System; Heather Snyder, Ph.D., director, medical and scientific operations for the Alzheimer's Association; Denis Evans, M.D., Rush University Medical Center, Chicago; Dec. 31, 2013, Journal of the American Medical Association

http://healthyliving...elay-alzheimers

 

[Christ_empowered]

That's so cool! I take 1,000 IU/day, with other stuff (Orthomolecular). I use mixed tocopherols, natural form.

 

[WordsintoHarmony]

Please don’t over look Alzheimer. Anyone may be able to get this. Alzheimer is a time limit to die. My Grampa for over 80 years had an excellent memory. A better memory than most 20 years old. He could remember things as being a kid going to school recalling days, months, and years of events. He could recall the name of actors and actresses in movies and films whether or not they were still alive or dead. So Grampa did not forget too much. Whatever he did was not important.

Then Alzheimer came along. When Alzheimer struck him Grampa became the most forgetful person I ever knew in my life. His speech also changed dramatically hard to pronounce some words. Kaiser was taking his case. Kaiser killed my Grampa. They murdered him a slow method.

They thought just because of his age they didn’t give him Alzheimer medicine. All they gave him was blood pressure medication and some medicine to help his anxiety. My Grampa before this had very good health. Grampa survived everything even his fall decades ago off a forklift ten feet down on his head. He used his arms to catch his fall. Whatever Grampa had he was able to over come all these things… . But He lost against Alzheimer. Grampa died within 2 years. If Kaiser would have done the right thing Grampa would have most likely been alive now. Because medicine can help a person often to live ten to twenty more years with Alzheimer.

So if you think you are in good shape and have a good memory that your not likely to get Alzheimer don’t think that way. This disease will take any one down in the best physical condition. Lets put it this way Alzheimer is a deadly irreversible cancer. This person not only has a certain time left to live unless they can find a cure. If you're not old keep your eyes on your parents or grandparents to look for any of these signs. You just may save their life or extend them more time to live. Because if Alzheimer is not treated quickly this person will be gone rapidly before you know it.

 

[tim-from-pa]

I heard that the cause of Alzheimer's was anything from aluminium toxicity to inflammation of the blood vessels supplying blood to the brain, similar to hardening of the arteries, only in the brain area.

My two cents on vitamin E and Alzheimer's is that vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant. It would not surprise me that the mechanism for Alzheimer's is the same as for heart disease, cancers and diabetes etc etc all forms of oxidation and inflammation. I would also hit the vitamin C, beta carotene and Selenium as well for antioxidants.

 

[Christ_empowered]

I read somewhere that niacin and niacinamide help prevent Alzheimer's. Makes sense. Orthomolecular docs use high dose B3 (either, sometimes both, forms) to help reduce brain damage from psych meds and ECT.

 

[tim-from-pa]

I read somewhere that niacin and niacinamide help prevent Alzheimer's. Makes sense. Orthomolecular docs use high dose B3 (either, sometimes both, forms) to help reduce brain damage from psych meds and ECT.

Yes, well in Orthomolecular "medicine", niacin is used rather than niacinamide. The latter does not cause flushing, thus most vitamin supplements have the niacinamide in them. As a side note, I used to take 500mg of Niacin and flush like a lobster, and then laugh at people's reactions when I went to work.

It's a vascular dilator, and can also be used for cholesterol control. Years ago, a Pharmacist friend of my brother said that if you want to lower cholesterol without dangerous drugs, then just take niacin. Of course, I don't believe Cholesterol is at all dangerous, and I actually classify it as a "vitamin" of sorts (D3 precursor). So I don't even worry what my levels are, nor do I even know. Let the doctors bask in their delusion that I'm "on the road to a heart attack" when in fact, I'll probably live long enough to dance on their graves. Anyway, by niacin doing so, I would imagine that that "gets the blood flowing" to the brain as well, as I believe Alzheimer's is just hardening (and constricted) arteries to the brain just as bad arteries elsewhere lead to stroke and heart attack. So in that respect, it's not the antioxidant effect, but the dilation effect. The Antioxidant effect keeps vessels from narrowing to begin with so that they don’t need dilation.

 

[BigSodaExposer]

Alzheimers is a disease of acetylcholine. A neurotransmitter in the brain. Unlike the other neurotransmitters, acetylcholine is broken down by the enzyme cholinesterase. When you hear of a terrorist attack using the nerve gas "serin". This gas attacks the cholinesterase enzyme, and then levels of acetycholine raise to dangerously high and sudden levels resulting in death. But on a much milder level. The supplement "huperzine A" comes from a moss, and interferes with cholinesterase. So if one can raise the acetycholine level, they should help the alzheimers. A better way might be to take the supplement NADH which stands for coenzyme Q 1. Some studies suggest it helps Parkinsons disease. Which is a disease (or loss) of dopamine much like a loss of acetycholine is an underlying cause of alzheimers.

 

[Kathi]