High Doses of B Vitamins May Reduce Brain Shrinkage, Memory Loss, Study Finds

B Vitamins in High Doses May Reduce Alzheimer's Disease Risk, Memory Loss, and Brain Shrinkage

Welcome To
SmartBodyz Nutrition
Your Online Source for Nutritional Supplements and Related Research

Vitamin B Complex in High Doses - Alzheimer's Disease / Memory Loss

High Doses of B Vitamins May Reduce Brain Shrinkage, Memory Loss, Study Finds
by Thomas H. Maugh II - Los Angeles Times

September 9, 2010, 10:36 AM

High doses of B vitamins may reduce shrinkage of the brain that is frequently a precursor of Alzheimer's disease, British researchers reported Wednesday. In the best circumstances, the supplements reduced shrinkage by as much as 50%, and researchers hope that this may mean that the vitamins can delay the onset of Alzheimer's. A longer trial is now being planned to determine if that is the case. The results are all the more remarkable because of the widely publicized failures of many experimental Alzheimer's treatments.

Dr. A. David Smith of the University of Oxford and his colleagues studied 168 volunteers with mild cognitive impairment, which is characterized by memory loss, language problems and other mental difficulties beyond those normally associated with aging. It generally does not significantly interfere with daily activities. An estimated 16% of people over the age of 70 have mild cognitive impairment, and about half of those proceed to Alzheimer's disease.

The rationale for the study was simple: High levels of the amino acid homocysteine in the blood are thought to be linked to the development of Alzheimer's. B vitamins are known to reduce homocysteine levels.

Smith's group gave half the patients daily doses of a Swedish vitamin called Triobe Plus and half of them a placebo. The product, which is dispensed only by prescription, contains 0.8 milligrams folic acid, 0.5 mg cyanocobalamin and 20 mg pyridoxine hydrochloride. That is about 300 times the recommended daily intake of vitamin B12, four times the recommended dose of folate and 15 times the recommended dose of vitamin B6. "This is a drug, not a vitamin intervention," said nutritionist Helga Refsum of the University of Oslo, a co-author.
The team also used magnetic resonance imaging to measure brain volume. Normally, the human brain shrinks by about half a percent per year. Smith and his colleagues reported in the online journal PLoS One that the brains of the patients receiving the placebo shrank by an average of about 1.08% per year, while the brains of those receiving the supplement shrank by an average of only 0.76%, a decrease of 30%. But, in patients who had the highest levels of homocysteine in their blood at the beginning of the two-year study, the shrinkage was reduced by 53%. Although the study was not designed to monitor mental capacity, the patients receiving the supplements scored better on mental tests, the researchers said.

"This is a very dramatic and striking result. It's much more than we could have predicted," Smith said in a statement.

At a news conference, Smith warned consumers against taking the high doses on their own, even though the results were "immensely promising." But when asked whether he would take it if he were diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment, he replied: "Yes, no hesitation. I would take it."

-- Thomas H. Maugh II

Give You and Your Loved Ones the Gift of Health! Special Sale! In addition to your 25% off, you get another 10% automatic volume discount at checkout on orders of $25 or more ... all items apply (including special sale items). SECURE SHOPPING CART CREDIT CARD PURCHASES ONLY. Call-ins do not receive this special discount.

Enjoy the benefits of our flat rate shipping and handling! You receive the same great service for the same shipping price whether you order one item or one hundred!

$5.97 - Within USA only - US Post Office 5-9 business days.

$16.97 - Within USA only - US Post Office 2-3 business days.

$37.87 - Within USA only - US Post Office Overnight (2nd day to rural areas).

$29.77 - To Canada only (see warning information here) 5-9 business days to customs check point (the only way we ship - US Post Office).

$39.77 - Outside USA only (see warning here) 7-10 business days to your country's customs check point (the only way we ship - US Post Office).

Save 8.25% on all purchases - Texans and everyone!

It's all tax free! You will be able to review all charges before they are charged to you.

At checkout (after you click the Add button above), the billing address you enter must match the address where you receive your credit card (security effects). The shipping address you enter does not have to match.

All orders placed by Noon Central Standard Time (CST) are shipped the same day. PO Boxes Okay.

Payment by credit card is immediate. Payment by check adds a few more business days -- as soon as funds clear.

We do not sell the information you give us to anyone.

Protecting Your Personal Information:
We pledge a safe and worry-free shopping experience using the industry standard for Internet security, 128-bit Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption (see an online payments diagram). SSL scrambles your personal and credit card information as it travels the Internet during the checkout process. We utilize the Authorize.Net payment gateway. Your credit card information is encrypted and sent to an Authorize.Net transaction server. This server sends the data through the network to the card's bank, using a secure, proprietary connection. When complete, you will receive an approval or decline response. At no point is your credit card information stored on our server.

For additional information regarding the privacy of your sensitive cardholder data, please read the Authorize.Net Privacy Policy.

SmartBodyz Nutrition Home Page
1000 West 10th, Suite 218
Fort Worth, Texas 76102
Local Telephone: 817-335-1982
Email: DG[at]SmartBodyz.com (replace [at] with @).
Copyright 1996-2012, SmartBodyz Nutrition -- all rights reserved.

SmartBodyz.com is registered with the Authorize.Net Verified Merchant Seal program. e6940c7b-5e43-433c-829f-5cf3da6e19ab

You can shop here with safety and confidence. We have partnered with Authorize.Net, a leading payment gateway since 1996, to offer safe and secure credit card transactions. We also offer PayPal Checkout and

Free phone information service. Dial 1-800-GOOG-411. http://www.google.com/goog411

Order books, etc.

The information and statements made throughout this web site have not been endorsed/evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration or any other governmental authority, unless otherwise specifically noted. We do not offer products or services for the benefits or purpose of diagnosis, prescription for, treatment of, or claims to prevent, mitigate or cure any viral or disease condition or be free from side effects. Please, seek the advice of a competent medical professional about anything you read on our site.

Blog | Links | Testimonials | Privacy