Taking B-Vitamins May Help Reduce The Risk Of Alzheimer’s Disease

A study published in Public Library of Science One conducted by the University of Oxford found that a combination of folic acid, Vitamins B6 and B12 (which are all B-Vitamins) appears to slow brain atrophy in elderly patients with mild cognitive impairment.

The study followed 168 participants over two years. One-half were treated with a European drug called TrioBe Plus® which contained a combination of folic acid (0.8 mg/d), and Vitamins B6 (20 mg/d) and B12 (o.5 mg/d). The other group received a placebo.

Those taking the vitamins had on average 29.6% less brain shrinkage. The vitamins also reduced homocysteine by 22.5%. Homocysteine was found in The Framingham Study to double a person’s risk of dementia if they had homocysteine levels above 14 micromoles per liter of serum.

By the way, this is an example of where a drug company is researching a combination of vitamins and if successful, then the drug company will patent the vitamin formula. The drug company will then be able to raise the price of the vitamins to drug price levels.

Fortunately, you can still get a B-Complex which will have all these ingredients. You can even buy them separately. So…if someone you know has dementia, get them taking these B-Vitamins.

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Women Are More At Risk For Concussions Than Men

While pro football players having concussions has been in the news recently, women may be more at risk than men. It turns out that women have smaller frames and neck muscles than men, which may make them more prone to concussions.

In addition, once a woman is injured, the effects can be much more severe. A 2010 study found that women took longer than men to recover from concussions. This was especially true for women of child-bearing age. Women also performed worse than men with comparable injuries on neurological tests.

Part of the problem is that women may ignore their concussion’s symptoms thinking things will get better. Here are the symptoms of a concussion:

Headaches
Dizziness
Trouble concentrating
Feeling over-stimulated by lights and noises
Memory loss, especially of the accident itself

So if you’re a woman and have had an accident, if you have one of these symptoms, then get yourself to a doctor.

(Reported Prevention January 2011)

Combining Vitamin D With Curcumin May Affect Brain Health

I’ve written many times about the benefits of Vitamin D3 and curcumin. Now researchers are combining the two as a way to boost the body’s immune system and also help clear protein plaques out of the brain that are linked to Alzheimer’s Disease.

The researchers in this study, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, took blood samples from nine Alzheimer’s disease patients and treated them with Vitamin D and curcumin. The researchers found that the curcumin enhanced the binding of beta-amyloids to macrophages, which are the scavengers of our immune system. The Vitamin D could then strongly stimulate the uptake and absorption of the beta-amyloids by the macrophages.

While this is early-stage research, it’s got exciting potential.

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