1/30/04
Mind Body and Soul

A recent study conducted by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health suggests that antioxidants Vitamins E and C may help in preventing Alzheimer's disease. Researchers involved in the study examined the effects of taking a combination of Vitamins E and C on the aging brains of 4,740 people living in Cache County, Utah who were over the age of 65. The researchers concluded that the residents taking Vitamins E and C, with or without an additional multivitamin, illustrated the largest reduction in oxidative damage associated with the pathological changes of Alzheimer's disease.

Peter Zandi, doctor and lead author of the study and an assistant professor in the Department of Mental Health for Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD said that Cache County residents were perfect for this kind of study. "The elderly people of Cache County are one of the most healthy and socio-economically sound populations in the country. That makes them interesting to study for this kind of thing," Zandi said. Zandi also said that the residents have low stress levels in their lives and as a result they live for a long time.

Zandi is quick to point out that Vitamins E and C are not a cure for Alzheimer's, but rather a simple combination of supplements that could slow down the effects of the disease. "This study simply concludes that the vitamins may prevent or delay the pathology of Alzheimer's," Zandi said. "The findings are very encouraging, but they came from an observational study. A clinical study still needs to be conducted to really confirm the results."

Neil Buckleholtz, chairman of the Alzheimer's Disease Education and Referral Center in Silver Spring, MD agrees that more tests need to be conducted. "I think a clinical trial needs to be conducted to see if researchers can get the same effects. Other studies have shown similar results so I think that there may be something to these findings."

Zandi says that clinical trials are now underway and that those results should be available to the public in two to five years. Zandi also acknowledges that even though a clinical study may confirm his study's findings, a cure for Alzheimer's is still very unlikely to be found. "Curing Alzheimer's is a tricky thing. It's a degenerative disease, so in some cases it may be so advanced that it can't ever be cured. We have a better chance of simply preventing it," Zandi said.

Continued...

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