 |
 |
Tuesday February 24, Company Press Release Vitamin E for Alzheimer's Disease: 'Very Safe,' Can Add 230 Days to Wellness Of Patients; for Parkinson's Disease, up to 66 Months (Part Two of a Three-Part Series of Articles Reporting on Vitamin E And Neurological Diseases.) WASHINGTON, Feb. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Treatment of Alzheimer's disease with Vitamin E has been shown to slow progression of the disease by 53 percent, adding as much as 230 days to the wellness of patients, according to a new survey of scientific studies. The survey, conducted by Veris Research and Information Service of LaGrange, Ill., said the American Psychiatric Association has issued new clinical practice guidelines recommending that either Vitamin E or the drug selegiline "be considered for use in patients with moderate disease to delay the mental deterioration of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias in the elderly." The survey found that "Vitamin E may be preferred from a safety standpoint, as Vitamin E appears to be very safe." In a New England Journal of Medicine editorial about Vitamin E, the survey said, "they also noted that Vitamin E is available over the counter, while selegiline is a marketed prescription drug." The Alzheimer's study was one of 47 neurological reports analyzed by the Veris organization, a not-for-profit group supplying nutrition information to health professionals. Studies focused on the role of antioxidants such as Vitamin E in preventing or alleviating neurological disorders, including Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia, causing brain cells to degenerate. About five percent of people over age 65 suffer from some form of dementia. In the study reporting the 53 percent gain in Alzheimer's treatment with Vitamin E, the length of time until occurrence of a "primary endpoint" -- need for institutionalization or loss of ability to perform activities -- was increased by 230 days in a group receiving Vitamin E. The group received 2000 International Units (IU) of Vitamin E daily for two years. Other groups received Vitamin E in combination with the drug selegiline, the drug alone, or a placebo. "During the study period, the percentage of patients who required institutionalization or lost the ability to perform activities of daily living was lowest in the Vitamin E group and highest in the placebo group," the Veris survey said. Parkinson's disease is a neurological disorder that affects about 10 percent of people over 65 and involves progressive degeneration of nerve cells in the brain. "The possible pharmacological use of Vitamin E and other antioxidants in Parkinson's disease has been investigated in several studies," the Veris survey said. "In a study of 14 patients with Parkinson's disease who were taking Vitamin E daily (400 to 3200 IU for an average of seven years), the disease was significantly less severe in the Vitamin E-supplemented group than in age- matched, unsupplemented subjects. "The reduced disease severity was reflected in the ability to carry out activities of daily living. In a group of patients with early Parkinson's disease who received high daily intakes of antioxidants (3200 IU of Vitamin E and 3000 milligrams of Vitamin C), the length of time before levodopa therapy was required to treat symptoms averaged 66 months. "Patients on antioxidant therapy went two and one-half years longer than untreated patients before requiring levodopa to treat their symptoms," the survey reported. The survey cited evidence that natural-source Vitamin E gets nutrients to the brain in five times higher concentration than synthetic Vitamin E. (Concluding: Part Three of this article will be transmitted Wednesday, Feb. 25, and will report on Vitamin E's use against epilepsy and tardive dyskinesia, a movement disorder.) (Foods for the Future provides factual information to the media concerning food products, health and nutrition. It is a project of the T. Dean Reed Company and is supported by U.S. agribusiness.) SOURCE: Foods for the Future Copyright © 1998 PRNewswire. As Phil Tompkins says, "Health food industry PR." However, I find it interesting, if nothing else ... Judith Richards [log in to unmask]