Lower Your Risk of Alzheimer's Disease

New evidence shows that a substance in the blood can cause the type of brain and blood vessel deterioration that leads to dementia. However, the same studies also show that taking certain vitamins can actually lower the levels of this substance in the blood-possibly preventing Alzheimer's disease. The studies and an editorial paper can be found in the May 28 issue of Neurology.

Amino acids are considered the building blocks of protein. Homocysteine is an amino acid that circulates in our blood. Alzheimer's patients, as well as five to seven percent of the general population, tend to have elevated homocysteine levels. High homocysteine levels have been linked to stroke and heart disease, and now Alzheimer's disease.

In the first of these studies, Joshua W. Miller, PhD, from the University of California in Sacramento and colleagues found that elevated homocysteine levels linked to blood vessel damage and having low levels of vitamin B-6 in the blood is common among Alzheimer's patients.

The findings need to be confirmed, and "it remains to be determined if elevated homocysteine or low vitamin B-6 directly influence Alzheimer's disease progression," Miller says in a news release. "But it is interesting. Vitamin B-6 has been shown to play a role in brain function and memory, so it's possible that taking B-6 supplements could help Alzheimer's patients."

In a second study, Perminder Sachdev, MD, PhD, of Prince of Whales Hospital in Randwick, Australia, and colleagues looked at the brains and homocysteine levels of 36 healthy seniors. Those with high homocysteine levels were twice as likely as those with normal levels to show brain loss.

However, whether the excess homocysteine is actually causing the brain deterioration remains to be seen.

"This is exciting information, because homocysteine levels can be reduced by taking vitamins B-6, B-12, and folic acid," says editorial author James Toole, MD, a neurologist a Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

Good sources of folic acid include citrus fruits and juices, vegetables, and grain products. Vitamin B-6 is found in meat, poultry, fish, fruits, grain products, and vegetables. Vitamin B-12 can be found in meat, poultry, fish and dairy products.

Source: WebMD

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