alzhiemers

Alzheimer disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia that causes problems with behavior, thought process and memory that deteriorate over time, eventually leading to death. It is considered a progressive and irreversible neurodegenerative disorder of the brain. Scientists do not fully know the causes of the disease, but it has been determined that an intricate series of phenomenon that take place over a long period in the brain results in its development. Treatments for the disease focus on dealing with both signs and symptoms, AD has no known cure. Some research claims that vitamin E as an antioxidant is powerful enough to slow or prevent Alzheimer disease. The studies to be discussed will explore such claims.

A study published in 2004 titled “Reduced Risk of Alzheimer Disease in Users of Antioxidant Vitamin Supplements: The Cache County Study” examined the relationship between antioxidant supplementation use and risk of Alzheimer’s. The cross-sectional and prospective study assessed 5092 elderly participants, 65 years old and older, for prevalent dementia and AD between the years of 1995 to 1997(wave I) and 1998 to 2000 (wave II). A total of 1429 from the 5092 participants were lost due to participation inability to follow up, refusal to participate and death. Buccal DNA was collected from 97% of the participants to determine genotype and a multistage screening was completed, which included the modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MS) a screening test for dementia.

The subjects were separated into groups of four according to their use of vitamin supplementation: vitamin E users or a multivitamin with more than 400IUs of the vitamin, vitamin C users or multivitamin users with a minimum of 500mg of vitamin C intake, and ...

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...urden while the mice who received the vitamin at 14 months showed no significant difference in when compared to the placebo mice. The study concluded that vitamin E suppresses brain lipid peroxidation and significantly reduces amyloid plaque deposition in mice that were treated early while those who were treated later only showed reduction in oxidative stress.

Most of the studies discussed supported the claim that vitamin E is a beneficial agent in the treatment of Alzheimer disease. The studies concluded that it reduced prevalence and incidence of Alzheimer’s, slowed the progression of the disease alone or paired with other treatments, decreased caregiver burden, and influenced cognitive function in the elderly but not in healthy individuals. However, more long-term studies are needed to test the effect of the vitamin in the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer’s.