There’s a new report in the Tuesday, December 31, 2013 HealthDay News that there may be some good news on the horizon in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease. A study is suggesting a large dose of Vitamin E might help to slow down the progression of this terrible memory-robbing illness. As I read this in the everydayhealth.com article I felt it would be advisable to pass this onto readers who did not read the article.
For years I took a large dose of Vitamin E hoping to prevent blockages of the heart; and after several reports that it might do more damage than good I stopped taking it. I try to live a healthy life and I watch for the things that may be harmful to my body and omit it if there are possible faults in taking it.
Dr. Maurice Dysken, lead author of a new study published December 31, 2014 in the Journal of the American Medical Association said, “Alzheimer’s patients who were given a “pharmacological” dose of Vitamin E had experienced slower declines in their memory and thinking and they had required less caregiver time than those who took a placebo.”
Dysken said, “We’ve found Vitamin E slowed down the rate of progression significantly versus placebo. Dysken is the Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center of the Minneapolis VA Health Care System.
Vitamin E does not appear to fight the underlying causes of Alzheimer’s and is not a cure, experts are stressing.
There was a study conducted on more than 600 patients at 14 VA medical centers who suffered with “mild” to moderate Alzheimer’s. The group of people was split into groups of quarters, each group receiving different therapies.
Dysken said, “One quarter were given a daily dose of 2,000 international units (IU) of alpha tocopherol, a form of Vitamin E. This is a rather large dose; by comparison, a daily multivitamin having only 100 IUs of Vitamin E.”
The other groups of patients were administered the Alzheimer’s medication memantine which is a combination of Vitamin E and memantine, or a placebo.
Researchers said, “19 percent to those people taking the Vitamin E alone experienced a reduction in their annual rate of decline; whereas, compared to those taking a placebo during the study’s average 2.3 years of follow-up.”
The Researchers said, “This means the Vitamin E group had a more than six-month deferment in the progression of Alzheimer’s.”
The Researchers said, “This delay might mean a lot to patients and noting the decline experienced by the placebo group might translate into their total loss of the ability to bathe or to dress alone.”
They also found the people in the group who were taking Vitamin E required about two fewer hours of care per day.
Researchers also found neither that memantine nor the combination of Vitamin E plus memantine disclosed clinical benefits in the trial.
Researchers also found that therapy with Vitamin E appeared to be safe, having “no” increase in the risk of illness or death. People who were in the Vitamin E groups’ annual death rate were 7.3 percent and that on placebo was 9.4.
People before you go out and start purchasing Vitamin E, please keep in mind that large doses of Vitamin E can have an effect on your other medications according to Heather Snyder, director of medical scientific operations for the Alzheimer’ Association.
I might mention that “no-one” should start on any vitamin treatment without first discussing what you’re taking with your professional doctor to ensure it is okay for your particular situation. There are interactions with some medications and before starting consult you’re all with doctor.
Snyder stated, “The findings are certainly positive enough to warrant further research;” but there needs to be a duplication of the study with another set of patients; and almost all of the patients in the study already conducted were nearly all male, so were not wholly representative of the general public.
Dysken indicated it’s important to point out that no one is sure how it helps slow mental decline. The Vitamin E that was used during the study was a fat-soluble antioxidant; and saying, “We don’t have a cogent theory why that property should be positive in patients with Alzheimer’s disease.”
Dr. Denis Evans, of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago stated in a Chicago editorial that accompanied the study that such research in the treatment of Alzheimer’s might not be as potentially beneficial as studies that focus on the prevention of disease altogether.
Evans said, “This is an excellent trial, and it points out the limitations of finding ways to treat the disease.” “It’s a reasonable argument for putting more emphasis on prevention.” “If you look at all trials of Alzheimer’s disease, of which is an example of one of the best, the treatment effects are real but they’re also relatively small and they focus (only) on the symptoms of the disease.”
Barbara Kasey Smith is the writer of this article and it is based on an article appearing in the everydayhealth.com. I found this information to be exciting and a possibility there’ll be more researches conducted using this daily high-dose of Vitamin E to possibly find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease or a delay in its devastating effects on the human mind.
Source:
everydayhealth.com