The research challenges existing thinking in Alzheimer’s research and suggests that vitamin supplements may provide a cheap treatment that has eluded the research efforts of pharmaceutical companies. The Oxford University study looked at MRI brain scans of 168 people over 70 years old with mild cognitive impairment, before and after a two year course of high dose B vitamins.
The results were very positive as people taking the vitamins lost 30 per cent less brain tissue than those who took a placebo. In the highest risk group, they lost 50 per cent less.
Human brains normally shrink by 0.5 per cent every year in old age, but higher rates of shrinking are linked to Alzheimer’s disease. The three different B vitamins act by reducing levels of a protein called homocysteine in the brain.
David Smith, one of the authors said “It is our hope that this simple and safe treatment will delay the development of Alzheimer’s disease in many people who suffer from mild memory problems”. “This is the first [study] that has shown a glimmer of hope or success,” he added.
Rebecca Wood, chief executive of the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, which co-funded the study, said: “The strong findings must inspire an expanded trial to follow people expected to develop Alzheimer’s, and we hope for further success.”
Helga Refsum, co-author of the study, describing the reaction of some of the Alzheimer’s research community to this novel approach, said: “It’s too simple and they don’t like it.”
