Overdose on B vitamins can halve the rate of brain shrinkage in elderly people with memory problems

Could This be the Key Factor Spiking the Rise in Dementia and Alzheimer's?

Large doses of B vitamins can halve the rate of brain shrinkage in elderly people with memory problems. It may slow their progression toward dementia.

A two-year clinical trial
was the largest to date into the effect of B vitamins on "mild cognitive impairment," a condition which is a major risk factor for Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.

Reuters reports:

"[Researchers] conducted a two-year trial with 168 volunteers with MCI who were given either a vitamin pill containing very high doses of folic acid, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12, or a placebo dummy pill ...

[O]n average the brains of those taking the vitamin treatment shrank at a rate of 0.76 percent a year, while those taking the dummy pill had an average brain shrinkage of 1.08 percent."

Sources:
Reuters September 8, 2010
Los Angeles Times September 9, 2010

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

We are in the midst of an Alzheimer's epidemic. Odds are absolutely overwhelming that you personally know someone with this disease or who has recently died from it.

In the next 20 years it is projected that Alzheimer's will affect one in four Americans.

According to the Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures report for 2009, 5.3 million people in the U. S. now have the disease, which bumps it up to the sixth leading cause of death.

Reuters reports:

"Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) affects around 16 percent of people aged over 70 worldwide and is characterized by slight problems with memory loss, language or other mental functions.

MCI does not usually interfere with daily life, but around 50 percent of people diagnosed with it go on to develop the far more severe Alzheimer's disease within five years.

Alzheimer's is a mind-wasting disease for which there are few treatments and no cure, and which affects 26 million people around the world."

Absolute Best Way to Treat Alzheimer's

Believe me, I don't mention these statistics to frighten you, but to warn you, because this is a bugger of a disease to beat when you have it.

You want to avoid this disease for sure, and the BEST way to "treat" it is to lead a lifestyle that will prevent it in the first place. And I can confidently assure you that this is possible.

I have absolutely no doubt that I will successfully avoid this disease as my lifestyle prevents it.

It is important to understand that dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, is NOT a normal part of aging, which makes the steady rise in dementia cases all that more frustrating.

Clearly, determining the underlying causes of these brain disorders is imperative if we're going to slow down or reverse this troubling trend.

In this latest PLoS study, extremely high doses of B vitamins were successful in limiting brain shrinkage, which is a common precursor of Alzheimer's disease.

According to one of the co-authors:

"This is a very dramatic and striking result. It's much more than we could have predicted… It is our hope that this simple and safe treatment will delay development of Alzheimer's in many people who suffer from mild memory problems."

This is good news, but there are certain factors that must be considered here, and I believe there are other, more effective strategies to combat Alzheimer's, which I'll review at the end of this article.

source: foodconsumer.org