From: "Jacqueline" (Thanks!)
Study: Extra Folic Acid May Help Memory
By LAURAN NEERGAARD
AP Medical Writer
June 21, 2005, 8:35 PM EDT
WASHINGTON -- High-dose folic acid pills -- providing as much of the
nutrient as 2.5 pounds of strawberries -- might help slow the
cognitive decline of aging. So says a Dutch study that's the first
to show a vitamin could really improve memory.
The research, unveiled Monday at a meeting of Alzheimer's
researchers, adds to mounting evidence that a diet higher in folate
is important for a variety of health effects. It's already proven to
reduce birth defects, and research suggests it helps ward off heart
disease and strokes, too.
The new study doesn't show folic acid could prevent Alzheimer's --
the people who tested the vitamin didn't have symptoms of that
disease.
But as people age, some decline in memory and other brain functions
is inevitable. Taking 800 micrograms of folic acid a day slowed that
brain drain, reported lead researcher Jane Durga of Wageningen
University in the Netherlands.
In the study, 818 cognitively healthy people ages 50 to 75 swallowed
either folic acid or a dummy pill for three years.
On memory tests, the supplement users had scores comparable to
people 5.5 years younger, Durga said. On tests of cognitive speed,
the folic acid helped users perform as well as people 1.9 years
younger.
That's significant brain protection, with a supplement that's
already well-known to be safe, said Johns Hopkins University
neuroscientist Marilyn Albert, who chairs the Alzheimer's
Association's science advisory council.
"I think I would take folic acid, assuming my doctor said it was
OK," Albert said. "We know Alzheimer's disease, the pathology,
begins many, many years before the symptoms. We ought to be thinking
about the health of our brain the same way we think about the health
of our heart."
Indeed, there's enough research now suggesting that there are ways
to gird the brain against age-related memory loss and Alzheimer's
that the association has begun offering classes to teach people the
techniques.
Topping the list:
* Exercise your brain. Using it in unusual ways increases blood flow
and helps the brain wire new connections. That's important to build
up what's called cognitive reserve, an ability to adapt to or
withstand the damage of Alzheimer's a little longer.
In youth, that means good education. Later in life, do puzzles,
learn to play chess, take classes.
* Stay socially stimulated. Declining social interaction with age
predicts declining cognitive function.
* Exercise your body. Bad memory is linked to heart disease and
diabetes because clogged arteries slow blood flow in the brain.
Experts recommend going for the triple-whammy of something mentally,
physically and socially stimulating all at once: Coach your child's
ball team. Take a dance class. Strategize a round of golf.
Diet's also important. While Alzheimer's researchers have long
recommended a heart-healthy diet as good for the brain, Monday's
folic acid study is the first to test the advice directly.
Previous studies have shown that people with low folate levels in
their blood are more at risk for both heart disease and diminished
cognitive function.
Durga said it's not clear how folic acid might work to protect the
brain. Some studies suggest folate lowers inflammation; others
suggest it may play a role in expression of dementia-related genes.
Folate is found in such foods as oranges and strawberries, dark-
green leafy vegetables and beans. In the United States, it also is
added to cereal and flour products. The recommended daily dose here
is 400 micrograms; doctors advise women of childbearing age to take
a supplement to ensure they get that much.
Copyright 2005 Newsday Inc.
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