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Vitamin E can slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease, and it appears to work a bit better than a promising, but more expensive, prescription drug.
A team of researchers and physicians headed by Mary Sano, Ph.D., a neuropsychologist at Columbia University, New York, gave 341 moderately senile patients either vitamin E, the drug selegiline, a combination of both, or a placebo daily for two years.
Patients who took 2,000 IU of vitamin E daily--a very high dose--developed severe Alzheimer's almost eight months later than did patients taking the placebo, according to Sano's article in the April 24 New England Journal of Medicine. Patients taking selegiline also experienced delayed progression of Alzheimer's, but only by seven months.
The patients' decline was measured by how quickly they were institutionalized, lost the ability to perform basic activities (e.g., eating and using a toilet) or died.
"Both selegiline and alpha tocopherol delay functional deterioration, particularly as reflected by the need for institutionalization, and should be considered for use in patients with moderate dementia," wrote Sano and her colleagues.
Patients who took a combination of vitamin E and selegiline slowed the development of Alzheimer's by only five months, suggesting that the two compounds were somewhat antagonistic. Neither vitamin E nor selegiline appeared to improve thinking abilities in the Alzheimer's patients.
"Vitamin E is available over the counter and selegiline is a marketed prescription drug," wrote David A. Drachman, M.D., and Paul Leber, M.D., in an accompanying editorial. "Those who care for patients with Alzheimer's disease may wish to try one or the other." Drachman is with the University of Massachusetts and Leber works for the Food and Drug Administration.
--Jack Challem
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