http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39066636/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition/?wpisrc=nl_health
B vitamins found to slow progression of dementia
By Kate Kelland
updated 9/9/2010 7:21:59 AM ET
-
LONDON - Daily tablets of large doses of B vitamins can halve the rate of brain
shrinkage in elderly people with memory problems and may slow their progression
toward dementia, data from a British trial showed on Wednesday,
Scientists from Oxford University said their two-year clinical trial was the
largest to date into the effect of B vitamins on so-called "mild cognitive
impairment" -- a major risk factor for Alzheimer's disease and other forms of
dementia.
Experts commenting on the findings said they were important and called for
larger, longer full-scale clinical trials to see if the safety and
effectiveness of B vitamins in the prevention of neurodegenerative conditions
could be confirmed.
"This is a very dramatic and striking result. It's much more than we could have
predicted," said David Smith of Oxford's department of pharmacology, who co-led
the trial.
"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."
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.
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