14 DAY TRIAL // Even if previous studies have shown that folates, which contain the B - vitamin complex, could be the cure for dementia or Alzheimer disease, the tests showed that this was a wrong starting point for the research.
It was supposed that these folates would lower the high levels of homocysteine in the blood of the elder men, which in turn will help improving the cognitive functions.
Homocysteine is a toxic, sulfur-containing amino-acid produced during cellular metabolism that, besides dementia, may increase the risk for heart disease, stroke, and vascular disease.
After a two-year research during which 276 healthy patients aged 65 or more have been tested, the conclusions were unsatisfactory: the folates given to the volunteers did indeed lower the levels of blood protein homocysteine, but this had no effect upon the cognitive function. Nevertheless, this method could work for the younger people, but in the case of the older ones it proved to have no results.
Murray Skeaff, co-author of the study published in the June 29 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine and associate professor at the University of Otago, New Zealand, admitted: "There is no short-term benefit of homocysteine lowering with B-vitamins on cognitive performance in healthy older people with high homocysteine."
The patients have been taking for two years a daily supplement made of 1,000 micrograms of folate, 500 micrograms of vitamin B12 and 10 milligrams of B6. But it seems that homocysteine levels do not influence the cognitive function, as the producing of the amino-acid in the body decreased, but the cognitive function did not improve. This was proven by the comparison of the two cognitive tests given by the volunteers - one at the beginning and one at the end of the research. There was no obvious improvement noticed.
Nevertheless, William Thies, vice president of Alzheimer's Association in Chicago, does not consider giving up: "We would love to see something as simple and relatively non-toxic as a vitamin intervention that would prevent dementia and/or Alzheimer's. This trial probably has an inadequate number of people and too short a time period to show an effect. This particular trial will not end the discussion."