Research undertaken at Oxford University suggests that a cheap regimen of vitamins in use for decades can delay the start of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
A study published last week showed that people who took vitamins B6 and B12 combined with folic acid experience a slower rate of deterioration of gray matter in brain areas affected by Alzheimer’s disease.
All disease-modifying treatments for Alzheimer’s in the previous decade failed late-stage trials “despite enormous financial and scientific efforts.”
“It’s the first and only disease-modifying treatment that’s worked,” said A. David Smith, Professor Emeritus of Pharmacology at Oxford and senior author of the study.
He added: “It’s a big effect, much bigger than we would have dreamt of.”
