Intake of vitamin E supplements may slow down the development of Alzheimer's in the initial phases, a latest study reveals.
Researchers of the study published in 'The Journal of the American Medical Association' found that over time, Alzheimer's patients were able to carry out daily tasks better after taking the vitamin E supplements.
For the study, the researchers tested over 610 participants from 14 Veterans Affairs medical centers between 2007 and 2012. Their average was 79.
These participants were divided in four groups in which they were either placed on vitamin E, a dementia medicine known as memantine, both tablets or a placebo, reported Fox News.
"It will be very interesting to see to what extent this will change practice," study author Dr. Maurice Dysken told Reuters. "I think it will, but we'll have to see how people in the field such as providers view the findings and patients too."
After an average of 2.3 years, researchers observed improvements in the vitamin E group; participants' ability to carry out daily activities increased and their dependency on caretakers decreased. These veterans also had a 19 percent lower annual rate of decline in daily living skills compared to the placebo group. Those on memantine did not show any difference.
"I think it's a well done study, but I think the results are modest," said Dr. Ronald Petersen, director of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at the Mayo Clinic. He also stated that unlike previous studies that stated vitamin E to be harmful, the current research showed positive effects of the supplements on the Alzheimer's patients.
"Nevertheless, it's out there and it's published," he said. "You have to let people know it could be a small risk."
However, the study authors warned that the results of the research should not be taken as ways of preventing Alzheimer's.
"This is not a prevention trial," Dysken said. "We were enrolling patients with a diagnosis and what we're looking at is slowing the rate of progression. It does not stop it."
Rather, in an editorial the researchers mentioned that their findings could just shed some light on the ways to treat symptoms of Alzheimer's.
"Considering the difficulties inherent in trying to treat rather than prevent very high-prevalence diseases and the limitations thus far of the therapeutic efforts for people with AD, shifting to more emphasis on prevention seems warranted," they wrote.
"I think this is an example that we're really doing research across the entire spectrum of the disease," the experts added.
