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By Will Dunham
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - High doses of B vitamins failed to slow cognitive decline in people with Alzheimer's disease, dashing the hopes for a new weapon against the fatal, mind-robbing ailment, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.
Experts had viewed B vitamins as a potential way to lower the risk of Alzheimer's disease or slow its progression because the vitamins can cut the amount of the amino acid homocysteine, found in high levels in the blood of Alzheimer's patients.
But when the researchers gave people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease high-dose supplements of vitamins B6 and B12 and the B vitamin folic acid for 18 months, they did no better on tests assessing cognitive skills such as memory and language than similar patients who were given a placebo.
Full story: B vitamins fail in U.S. Alzheimer's disease study | Health | Reuters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - High doses of B vitamins failed to slow cognitive decline in people with Alzheimer's disease, dashing the hopes for a new weapon against the fatal, mind-robbing ailment, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.
Experts had viewed B vitamins as a potential way to lower the risk of Alzheimer's disease or slow its progression because the vitamins can cut the amount of the amino acid homocysteine, found in high levels in the blood of Alzheimer's patients.
But when the researchers gave people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease high-dose supplements of vitamins B6 and B12 and the B vitamin folic acid for 18 months, they did no better on tests assessing cognitive skills such as memory and language than similar patients who were given a placebo.
Full story: B vitamins fail in U.S. Alzheimer's disease study | Health | Reuters