B vitamins may slow onset of Alzheimer's

• Autores: Caroline Williams
• Localización: New scientist, ISSN 0262-4079, Nº. 2918, 2013, pág. 10
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Those at risk of developing Alzheimer's may be able to slow its onset through daily B vitamins. David Smith and Gwenaelle Douaud at the University of Oxford used MRI to track changes in the brains of 200 elderly volunteers with mild cognitive impairment over two years. Half were given high doses of vitamin B12, B6 and folic acid--the rest took a placebo. The team found that areas of the brain most seriously affected by Alzheimer's, including the hippocampus and cerebellum, were protected in volunteers given the vitamins. For instance, in those with high homocysteine, the atrophy rate in these brain regions was seven times greater in the placebo group than in the vitamin group.