Vitamin E May Slow Down Alzheimer’s

Not long ago we learned that vitamin E was no help to patients with Alzheimer’s. A Cochrane review found that there was “no evidence of the efficacy of vitamin E for people suffering from Alzheimer's disease”. Now there’s an opposing report, presented at the American Geriatrics Society Annual meeting.

The study in question enrolled 540 patients treated at the Massachusetts General Hospital Memory Disorders Unit. All of them were taking a cholinesterase inhibitor: donepezil (Aricept®), rivastigmine (Exelon®), or galantamine (Razadyne®). In addition, 208 of them received vitamin E (800 to 2,000 IU/day); 49 received a non-steroid anti-inflammatory drug (an NSAID, such as ibuprophen) but no vitamin E; 177 received vitamin E and an NSAID; and 106 received neither.

Each patient’s performance on a battery of cognitive tests and their ability to carry out daily functions, such as dressing and personal care, were assessed every 6 months. After 3 years, there was a modest slowing in the decline of daily function scores in the two groups taking vitamin E, compared with the results in the other groups. Those patients taking an NSAID showed a small reduction in the rate of decline in cognitive functioning, while the group taking vitamin E and an NSAID had the best result.

Thus is the second large study to report improvement in Alzheimer’s with vitamin E supplements. The previous one was presented at the American Academy of Neurology meeting last year. Vitamin E is relatively cheap and pretty harmless in doses up to 2,000 IU/day (most of the patients in this study took 1,000 IU/day). It looks like a useful supplement to treatment for Alzheimer’s patients, while we’re waiting for a highly effective drug to come along.