Progress through research and expansion of our understanding of diseases and conditions that plague the modern world, is always exciting. I received a Clinical Nutrition Update published by Arbor Communications on progress that has been made in the quest to discover what factors affect Alzheimer’s Disease. There are indications that certain B vitamins may be implicated in the development and progression of Alzheimer’s.
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Alzheimer’s Disease
This sly illness which creeps up on so many people, not only in old age, but while they are still in their forties and fifties, is particularly distressing for all who are associated with it.
Patients progressively lose their cognitive functions, their memory and their dignity. Anyone who has seen “Iris”, the film that so movingly chronicles the frightening descent into dementia that Iris Murdoch suffered before her untimely death, will be aware of the destruction this disease causes. Iris was one of Britain’s foremost modern authors, with a sharp and scintillating brain. The portrayal by Dame Judy Dench, of Iris’ loss of her mind, is one of the most shattering performances I have ever seen.
Alzheimer’s Disease not only affects the patient, but also all who love and care for the person whose mind disintegrates. Caregivers and family members are helpless to do anything and at present there is no cure for this dreaded disease.
Many theories
Scientists have been trying to establish what causes Alzheimer’s Disease and are looking for potential cures and treatments. Many theories have been proposed - there is the virus theory which contends that the sticky plaques that develop in the brain are triggered by viruses. In another theory, the use of aluminum cooking utensils has also been considered as a causative factor, but our knowledge is still frustratingly limited.
Latest research
In the latest Arbor Clinical Nutrition Update, the editors review three studies that have come up with exciting new facts.
In the first study, homocysteine levels were tested in more than a 1000 people who participated in the Framingham Study, a long-term study conducted in the UK to identify the influence of nutrition on many different conditions over very long periods. Homocysteine is a chemical compound that has previously been linked to risk of heart attacks. In the Alzheimer’s Disease study, researchers analysed the homocysteine levels in the blood of participants over a period of 16 years. They found that subjects with high homocysteine levels had a much higher incidence of dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease. In fact, the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease was doubled in those individuals who had abnormal homocysteine levels exceeding 14 micromol per litre of blood.
In the second study, two groups of participants who had participated in a Scottish mental health survey when they were 11 years old, were tested for homocysteine levels and mental function at the ages of 63 and 78 years. The researchers found that in older participants, raised homocysteine levels in the blood were linked to decreased mental function, such as is seen in Alzheimer’s Disease.
The third study compared homocysteine levels with the results of MRI scans in more than 1000 Dutch subjects, aged 60 to 90 years. Once again the scientists discovered that raised homocysteine levels were associated with an increased risk of finding so-called “silent brain infarcts” and severe white matter lesions, both of which indicate brain damage.
What does this mean?
Although research into the link between raised homocysteine levels and Alzheimer’s Disease is still in its early stages, these three studies indicate that there may well be an association between raised homocysteine levels in the blood and the risk of developing progressive brain damage.
Research on the link between raised homocysteine levels and heart disease which has progressed much further, has found that raised homocysteine levels can be reduced to normal by ensuring that patients have adequate folic acid, vitamin B12 and B6 intakes.
In relation to Alzheimer’s Disease, it may, therefore, also be important to ensure that patients, and in fact all older individuals, get sufficient folic acid, vitamin B12 and vitamin B6 from their diets and/or by means of supplements.
Imagine what benefits would ensue if Alzheimer’s Disease could either be prevented and/or treated by something as simple as 3 of the B vitamins! The Editors of the Arbor Clinical Nutrition Updates state that there is now sufficient evidence to encourage doctors to take homocysteine levels into account when treating elderly patients at risk of developing dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease. They also believe that such patients should be monitored to determine if they suffer from folic acid, B12 and to a lesser extent, B6 deficiencies, and if this should be the case, that they should be treated with these 3 B vitamins.
Next week we will take another look at folic acid, vitamin B12 and vitamin B6, which could just hold the answer to one of the most tragic diseases of modern times.
If you would like to access the Arbor Nutrition Website, log into: www.arbor.com.
If you have any diet queries, post a question or message on The Message Board. I am here to assist you with your Diet and Food Choices, so let’s interact. - (Dr I.V. van Heerden, DietDoc)
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