Saturday, October 23, 2010

Vitamin B12 might help postpone Alzheimer's disease, study states

BBC News Health indicates that increased levels of vitamin B12 in the body might help stave off the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. A research published just lately in Neurology of 271 65- to 79-year-old Finnish individuals conducted over the course of seven years found that lower levels of vitamin B12 in the blood could possibly be linked to instances of senior dementia. None of those surveyed had dementia at the time the analysis commenced. Thorough screening for dementia was performed before the analysis had been undertaken. Yet numerous experts at this early stage point out that vitamin B12 supplements shouldn’t be considered cure-all pills for dementia before additional assessments can ascertain the veracity of the claim.

Helping yourself using the vitamin B12-homocysteine

Fortified cereals have Vitamin B12 in it which is also found in most meat, fish, eggs and milk. The body chemical homocysteine is linked to Alzheimer’s, based on scientists. It was also discovered that B vitamins link. Strokes and dementia are more likely to occur with more homocysteine. Increasing the amount of vitamin B12 within the blood is known to lower homocysteine levels and slow brain shrinkage, a condition associated with Alzheimer’s illness

Alzheimer’s developed in some before ending the review

Of the 271 study respondents, 17 were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease after seven years. Researchers found that vitamin B12 deficiency and increased homocysteine amounts were common elements among those afflicted, while those using the highest amounts of B12 tended to be healthier mentally. BBC spoke with professor Helga Refsum of the University of Oslo. She said that although the Alzheimer’s sample was “relatively small, (this study) should act as an additional incentive to start a large scale trial with homocysteine-lowering therapy using B vitamins.”

Watch for STEP to use

We got a few advice as to stay away from Alzheimer’s from Alzheimer’s Research Trust CEO Rebecca Wood. She says the best things to do are have a balanced diet, exercise and keep your blood pressure and cholesterol low. After some more trials, we might find out that Vitamin B12 will help also though. In the meantime, scientists may want to attempt human trials with treatments that lower a protein called “STEP” that induces Alzheimer’s disease-like conditions in mice. There aren’t any facts on the reactions of humans. Nobody knows what will happen.

Info from

BBC

bbc.co.uk/news/health-11569602



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