A daily dosage of
vitamin E can slow functional decline and reduce caregiver time in assisting
Alzheimer's patients.
Researchers have
found that alpha tocopherol - a fat-soluble vitamin (E) and antioxidant - in
patients with moderately severe Alzheimer's disease (AD) was shown to be
effective in slowing clinical progression.
'We examined the
effectiveness and safety of vitamin E and memantine (a drug used for the
treatment of moderate to severe dementia of the Alzheimer's type) in patients
who were taking an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor (a chemical that increases
the level and duration of action of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine),' said
Maurice W. Dysken of the Minneapolis VA Health Care System.
The trial
included 613 patients at 14 medical centres. Participants received either 2,000
IU/day of vitamin E, 20 mg/day of memantine, a combination of both vitamin E
and memantine or placebo - a substance containing no medication and prescribed
to reinforce a patient's expectation to get well.
They found that
participants receiving vitamin E had slower functional decline than those
receiving placebo. Neither memantine nor the combination of vitamin E and
memantine showed clinical benefit in this trial, claimed the study published in
Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
'Because vitamin
E is inexpensive, it is likely these benefits are cost-effective as alpha
tocopherol improves functional outcomes and decreases caregiver burden,'
concluded the study.
No comments:
Post a Comment