Vitamin B Supplements Could Prevent Alzheimer's Memory Loss

Another recent study has shown the remarkable effects of vitamin B3 on memory loss and high doses of Vitamin B3 could have a dramatic effect on the progression of this disease.

This further breakthrough (which as readers of The Alzheimer's Alternative you are already aware of!) comes from the University of California and shows the effect of this incredibly cheap supplement.

Researchers believe that the supplement reduces the build up of "tangles" or phosphorylated tau in the brain that cause cell death and dementia and could also boost the general performance of the brains neurons. The researchers from the States believe that although these trials were carried out on mice with the equivalent of Alzheimer's there is no reason why the results cannot be replicated and clinical trials are underway to see if this is the case.

In The Alzheimer's Alternative I recommend a daily dose of 15-20mg of Niacin as being beneficial in Alzheimer's disease and other dementias but for this study around 25 volunteers, all over 50 years old with early signs of Alzheimer's Disease, will be given extremely high doses of the vitamin - around 1,500 mg - twice a day for six months!

In mice, vitamin B3 was shown to lower the levels of tau and strengthened microtubules along which information travels in brain cells, helping to keep neurons alive and further preventing symptoms in the mice, which were genetically engineered to develop Alzheimer's.

In the study, the researchers added the vitamin to the drinking water of certain mice and tested their short-term and long-term memory using mazes and object-recognition tasks. They found that the treated Alzheimer's mice performed at the same level as normal mice, while untreated Alzheimer's mice experienced memory loss. They also found that the vitamin slightly enhanced cognitive abilities in normal mice.

"This suggests that not only is it good for Alzheimer's disease, but if normal people take it, some aspects of their memory might improve," one of the lead reasearchers stated. "Microtubules are like highways inside cells. What we're doing with nicotinamide is making a wider, more stable highway. In Alzheimer's disease, this highway breaks down. We are preventing that from happening."

For those who really want to make dramatic strides in safeguarding their mental faculties watch out for my future articles where I will give you new ideas to think about. You can also learn much more about Alzheimer’s disease and dementia in my new book, The Alzheimer’s Alternative available from www.alzheimersalternative.com.

Reference:

"Nicotinamide Restores Cognition in Alzheimer's Disease Transgenic Mice via a Mechanism Involving Sirtuin Inhibition and Selective Reduction of Thr231-Phosphotau." Green, K.N. et al. Journal of Neuroscience 2008; vol.28. pages 11500-11510