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Vitamin E May Slow Alzheimers Says New Research
 Nov.
2, 2004 Vitamin E may help prevent Alzheimers Disease, according to a
researcher who says he has discovered new clues about how brain cells
are damaged by the disease.
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Previous stories
about Vitamin E and Alzheimer's |
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Vitamins E and C may reduce effects of Alzheimer's
Jan. 22, 2004 - Antioxidant vitamin supplements, particularly vitamins E and C, may protect the aging brain from Alzheimer's disease.
More...
Vitamin E with Aricept May Slow Alzheimer's
More... 10/28/03
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The study by University of Kentucky chemistry
professor Allan Butterfield was funded by the National Institutes of
Health. He focused on amyloid beta peptide, a compound known to
contribute to the senile plaques seen in the brains of Alzheimer's
patients.
The study compared amyloid beta peptide in an
animal model to the same compound in humans and found both forms of the
compound cause loss of connections between neurons and decreased cell
viability as well as other damage associated with Alzheimer's.
Butterfield's study identified methionine in the
human amyloid beta peptide as a key contributor to Alzheimer's disease.
A previous theory held that it was the copper binding sites in the human
peptide that contributed to Alzheimer's. His study found the animal form
of the peptide, which does not have the copper binding sites, still
causes damage.
Butterfield says this indicates the damage to
neurons caused by the human peptide in an Alzheimer's disease patient is
related to the peptide's methionine residue.
Butterfield also demonstrated that in the animal
form of the peptide, the introduction of the antioxidant vitamin E
slowed the destruction of brain cells as it appears to in the human
form. These results provide new insights into the mechanisms of action
of human amyloid beta peptide, which many researchers believe causes the
damage seen in the brains of Alzheimer's disease patients.
Butterfield's complete paper is in the October
issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.
Copyright: SeniorJournal.com |
