Vitamins E & C to fight Alzheimer's

A study finds that a combination of the two nutrients buffers the brain better than either on its own People who load up on antioxidant vitamins may gain protection against Alzheimer's disease later in life, new research suggests. The study of more than 4,700 men and women in Utah found that those who took extra vitamin E and C were about 60 percent less likely to develop dementia and other memory and thinking problems linked with Alzheimer's as those who didn't use the two supplements.

The effect appeared only in people who combined the two vitamins, however, and neither on its own seemed to offer protection against the brain-wasting disease, which afflicts 4 million Americans – reports &to=http://www.healthcentral.com' target=_blank>HealthCentral

People of retirement age who took supplements of both vitamin E and C daily saw their risk of Alzheimer's disease plummet by almost 80 per cent, a new study shows.

However, the researchers saw no appreciable decrease in the devastating neurological disease if people took vitamin E or vitamin C alone, or if they took a multivitamin.

Peter Zandi, a professor of mental hygiene at the school of public health of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md., said it appears that when the two vitamins are taken in high doses they work together to protect neurons.

Both vitamin E and C are antioxidants, meaning they protect cells (including those in the brain) against free radicals. Neurons are particularly sensitive to damage by free radicals, and neuron damage is believed to be at least partly responsible for the development of Alzheimer's – informs &to=http://www.globeandmail.com' target=_blank>The Globe and Mail