Antioxidant Vitamins Help to Preserve Cognitive Function

Previously, a number of studies have suggested that Alzheimer's Disease is neurodegenerative, and that antioxidants may protect against the loss of synapses in the brain.  Gabriele Nagel, from the University of Ulm (East Germany), and colleagues studied a group of men and women, ages 65 to 90 years, assessing subjects via neuropsychological testing, surveying their lifestyles, testing blood for vitamin levels, and calculating body mass index (BMI). The team selected 74 participants with mild dementia and compared them to a control group of 158 age-matched subjects. The concentration of vitamin C and beta carotene in the serum of the dementia patients was significantly lower, as compared to the control subjects. No difference in other circulating antioxidants (vitamin D, lycopene, coenzyme Q 10) was observed. Writing that: "Our findings suggest an association of vitamin C and beta carotene with dementia,” the researchers posit that it may be possible to influence the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's Disease by modulating the person's diet or dietary antioxidant consumption.