Study: Extra folic acid may protect brain
- From: "Bill" <xxx@xxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 23 Jun 2005 08:54:35 GMT
Study: Extra folic acid may protect brain
WASHINGTON (AP) -- High-dose folic acid pills -- providing as much of
the nutrient as 2.5 pounds of strawberries -- might help slow the cognitive
decline of aging.
So says a Dutch study that's the first to show a vitamin could really
improve memory.
The research, unveiled Monday at a meeting of Alzheimer's researchers,
adds to mounting evidence that a diet higher in folate is important for a
variety of health effects. It's already proven to reduce birth defects, and
research suggests it helps ward off heart disease and strokes, too.
The new study doesn't show folic acid could prevent Alzheimer's _ the
people who tested the vitamin didn't have symptoms of that disease.
But as people age, some decline in memory and other brain functions is
inevitable. Taking 800 micrograms of folic acid a day slowed that brain drain,
reported lead researcher Jane Durga of Wageningen University in the
Netherlands.
In the study, 818 cognitively healthy people ages 50 to 75 swallowed
either folic acid or a dummy pill for three years.
On memory tests, the supplement users had scores comparable to people
5.5 years younger, Durga said. On tests of cognitive speed, the folic acid
helped users perform as well as people 1.9 years younger.
That's significant brain protection, with a supplement that's already
well-known to be safe, said Johns Hopkins University neuroscientist Marilyn
Albert, who chairs the Alzheimer's Association's science advisory council.
"I think I would take folic acid, assuming my doctor said it was OK,"
Albert said. "We know Alzheimer's disease, the pathology, begins many, many
years before the symptoms. We ought to be thinking about the health of our
brain the same way we think about the health of our heart."
Indeed, there's enough research now suggesting that there are ways to
gird the brain against age-related memory loss and Alzheimer's that the
association has begun offering classes to teach people the techniques.
Topping the list:
a.. Exercise your brain. Using it in unusual ways increases blood flow
and helps the brain wire new connections. That's important to build up what's
called cognitive reserve, an ability to adapt to or withstand the damage of
Alzheimer's a little longer. In youth, that means good education. Later in
life, do puzzles, learn to play chess, take classes.
b.. Stay socially stimulated. Declining social interaction with age
predicts declining cognitive function.
c.. Exercise your body. Bad memory is linked to heart disease and
diabetes because clogged arteries slow blood flow in the brain.
Experts recommend going for the triple-whammy of something mentally,
physically and socially stimulating all at once: Coach your child's ball team.
Take a dance class. Strategize a round of golf.
Diet's also important. While Alzheimer's researchers have long
recommended a heart-healthy diet as good for the brain, Monday's folic acid
study is the first to test the advice directly.
Previous studies have shown that people with low folate levels in
their blood are more at risk for both heart disease and diminished cognitive
function.
Durga said it's not clear how folic acid might work to protect the
brain. Some studies suggest folate lowers inflammation; others suggest it may
play a role in expression of dementia-related genes.
Folate is found in such foods as oranges and strawberries, dark-green
leafy vegetables and beans. In the United States, it also is added to cereal
and flour products. The recommended daily dose here is 400 micrograms; doctors
advise women of childbearing age to take a supplement to ensure they get that
much.
begin 666 spacer.gif
K1TE&.#EA`@`"`( ``,# P ```"'Y! $`````+ `````"``(`0 ("A%$`.P``
`
end
.
- Prev by Date: Re: Dialysis, anyone?
- Next by Date: Re: Dialysis, anyone?
- Previous by thread: report of statin induced Parkinsonism
- Next by thread: Re: Study: Extra folic acid may protect brain
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
