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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Taking high doses of vitamin E appears to extend the life of people with Alzheimers disease.
The findings are the result of a study authored by Valory Pavlik, Ph.D. of Baylor College of Medicines Alzheimers Disease and Memory Disorders Center in Houston, Texas.
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After receiving 1,000 international units of vitamin E twice a day for five years, the patients were 26 percent less likely to die than those who did not take the vitamin. Whether they were also taking an Alzheimers drug (cholinesterase inhibitor) did not make a difference. Dr. Pavlik notes the dosage was much higher than what is currently recommended for the general public.
Previous studies showed vitamin E can delay the progression of moderately severe Alzheimers disease. Now, weve been able to show that vitamin E appears to increase the survival time of Alzheimers patients as well, Dr. Pavlik was quoted as saying. This is particularly important because recent studies in heart disease patients have questioned whether vitamin E is beneficial for survival.
According to the study, patients who took vitamin E plus an Alzheimers drug appear to get a greater benefit than those taking either one alone. However, people who took the drug but not vitamin E did not have any survival benefit. Dr. Pavlik says more research is needed to find out why.
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SOURCE: Presented at the American Academy of Neurologys 60th Annual Meeting in Chicago, April 12-19, 2008
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
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