|
Vitamin
E, Aricept cocktail
may curb Alzheimer's
Patients
Taking Mix Scored Better On Mental Exams, According To Report
A
vitamin cocktail containing Vitamin E and the prescription drug Aricept is
showing promise as a therapy to help slow the progression of Alzheimer's
disease.
A three-year study shows that combining the prescription drug Aricept with
vitamin E can help slow the progression of the disease, according to
Alzheimer's researcher Dr. David Beversdorf.
"What we found was that the decline at years 1, 2 and 3 compared to
the baseline was significantly less for our group," said Beversdorf.
Patients treated with
the prescription combination scored better on mental exams, showing less
mental decline than the group that did not get the cocktail, according to
the study. Patients were given a minimum of 670 mg of vitamin E combined
with a normal dosage of Aricept. Although the study was promising,
researchers still have many questions to answer before they know if the
combination will benefit every patient.
The research appears
in the journal Alzheimer Disease and
Associated Disorders. The research was funded by an
unrestricted educational grant from Pfizer/Eisai, manufacturers of Aricept,
and the National Institutes of Health.
In the United States,
about 4.5 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease, according to the
Alzheimer's Association. As the baby boom generation ages, the estimated
Alzheimer prevalence is 11.3 million to 16 million by the year 2050
|
Now,
keep up to date with daily feeds of newly posted stories about America's
Seniors...click on the box to the left