News: Can vitamin B treatment prevent Alzheimer’s disease?

Alzheimer’s Disease is a heartbreaking one – slowly robbing its victims of their memories, cognitive function and independence. It’s especially daunting because there’s no cure – and, up until now – no way of preventing it.

A new study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), found that high doses of vitamin B6 and B12, along with folic acid, can help prevent Alzheimer’s.

"Our results show that B-vitamin supplementation can slow the atrophy of specific brain regions that are a key component of the AD process and that are associated with cognitive decline," the study’s authors wrote.

In other words, vitamin B treatment protects the areas of the brain that Alzheimer’s targets – the areas associated with learning and memory.

"B-vitamin treatment reduces, by as much as seven fold, the cerebral atrophy in those gray matter (GM) regions specifically vulnerable to the AD process."

Before you head out to the drugstore and stock up on vitamin B, keep in mind that more research is needed to confirm whether vitamin B treatments can slow the progression of dementia. One thing is certain, says lead study author A. David Smith: ‘It’s the first and only disease-modifying treatment that’s worked.’

-Katharine Watts, associate web editor

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