Vitamin E Helpful In Treating Mild to Moderate Alzheimer's Disease


In a new double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, randomized clinical trial involving 613 patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's Disease (AD), Vitamin E was shown to slow the functional decline of Alzheimer's. AD affects approximately 5 million older Americans and is marked by irreversible, progressive deterioration in memory and thinking skills. In this study, mild to moderate AD patients received either 2,000 IUs of vitamin E daily or a placebo. Over the average follow-up time of 2.3 years, researchers estimated those patients receiving the vitamin E had slowed their functional decline in activities of daily living (ADLs) by 19%. ADLs include things such as making meals, getting dressed and holding a conversation. According to researchers, this translated into a delay in progression of mild to moderate AD by 6.2 months. Another significant finding was that caregiver time was reduced by approximately 2 hours per day in the vitamin E group. Previous studies have also shown Vitamin E effective in those with moderately severe AD. It's important to note that those considering vitamin E supplementation to treat AD only do so under the supervision of a physician as vitamin E can interfere with blood thinners, cholesterol drugs and other medications.