High dose vitamin E may help delay Alzheimer's disease - VOXXI

Taking high dose vitamin E may delay Alzheimer’s disease. (Shutterstock)

While the verdict on multivitamins may not support their use for everyday disease prevention according to the most recent studies, some vitamins, especially at experimental dosages do have a benefit–or detriment–to the body. Such is the case with vitamin E, a supplement often touted as beneficial for skin-related issues. Now research suggests there may be another application for vitamin E: to delay Alzheimer’s disease.

When given a pharmacological, or higher-than-average, dose of the vitamin, individuals already showing symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease experienced slower declines in thinking and memory and required less caregiver time than those taking a placebo. The vitamin E^[1] was not found, however, to treat the underlying causes of Alzheimer’s disease, and experts cautioned use of the vitamin could not be compared to a cure.

“We found vitamin E significantly slowed the rate of progression versus placebo,” study author Dr. Maurice Dysken, who is with the Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center of the Minneapolis VA Health Care System, said as reported by HealthDay News^[2] .

Overall, those study participants taking only vitamin E during the research experienced an average six month delayed Alzheimer’s disease progression compared to other individuals being tracked. Those who took vitamin E alone experienced a 19 percent reduction in their annual rate of decline when compared to the group taking the placebo medication.

Individuals taking the high-dose vitamin E also required an average of two hours less a day in regards to supportive care, an important aspect of daily life for individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, over a 40-year period, treatment of Alzheimer’s disease will cost^[3] the United States alone more than $20 trillion.

“We know that Alzheimer’s disease is not just ‘a little memory loss’- it is a national crisis that grows worse by the day,” said Harry Johns, President and CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association, in a statement^[4] . “Alzheimer’s not only poses a significant threat to millions of families, but also drives tremendous costs for government programs like Medicare and Medicaid.”

1 in 3 seniors will die with a dementia-like disease. (Shutterstock)

While there was some improvement seen with vitamin E at a high dose to delay Alzheimer’s disease, and no increased mortality risk was seen, experts caution such treatment should not be undertaken without a doctor’s supervision. Vitamin E has the potential, especially at high dosage, to interact with other medications like blood thinners and cholesterol drugs.

What’s more, while the research indicates vitamin E at a high-dose should be safe for to delay Alzheimer’s disease, no causative reason was identified, meaning study authors are unsure just how vitamin E affects the brain’s degenerative process. At best, the results of the research may be used to help develop more complete treatment and preventative therapies for those at-risk for Alzheimer’s disease.

“This is an excellent trial, and it points out the limitations of finding ways to treat the disease,” Dr. Denis Evans, of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, said in an editorial accompanying the research. “It’s a reasonable argument for putting more emphasis on prevention. If you look at all trials of Alzheimer’s disease, of which this is an example of one of the best, the treatment effects are real but they are also relatively small and they focus [only] on the symptoms of the disease.”

Alzheimer’s disease currently affects more than 5 million Americans and is the 6th leading cause of death in the United States. Approximately 1 in 3 seniors will die with Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia, and in 2013 alone, Alzheimer’s cost the United States more than $200 billion dollars. Because there is not definitive cause of this disease–and therefore no way to cure it–Alzheimer’s has no survivors.

References

1. ^{^} vitamin E (voxxi.com)


2. ^{^} HealthDay News (consumer.healthday.com)


3. ^{^} will cost (voxxi.com)


4. ^{^} a statement (www.alz.org)