Fox Health: Dementia risk could increase with low levels of essential vitamin

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Dementia risk could increase with low levels of essential vitamin

"Normal" levels of vitamin B12 may not be enough to ward off dementia, according to researchers at University of California San Francisco. A neurosurgeon comments on the findings....                        ...                        ...                            ..."Normal" levels of vitamin B12 may not be enough to You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login, new research finds.......Researchers at University of California San Francisco studied 231 healthy older adults (averaging 71 years of age) who did not have dementia or mild cognitive impairment.......Blood tests showed that their B12 levels averaged 414.8 pmol/L, while the recommended minimum level in the U.S. is just 148 pmol/L.......You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login......Participants who had lower B12 levels were found to have "slower cognitive and visual processing speeds" when taking tests, which is linked to "subtle cognitive decline," according to a UCSF press release.......The effect was more pronounced with age.......The people with lower levels also had more lesions in the white matter in their brains, which can be a warning sign of cognitive decline, You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login, the researchers found.......The findings were published in Annals of Neurology on Feb. 10.......Based on these results, the researchers recommend updating the current B12 requirements.......You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login......"Previous studies that defined healthy amounts of B12 may have missed subtle functional manifestations of high or low levels that can affect people without causing overt symptoms," said senior author Ari J. Green, MD, of the UCSF Departments of Neurology and Ophthalmology and the Weill Institute for Neurosciences. ......"Revisiting the definition of B12 deficiency to incorporate functional biomarkers could lead to earlier intervention and prevention of cognitive decline."......The researchers did acknowledge that the study only included You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login, who may have a "specific vulnerability" to lower levels of B12.......Those lower levels, however, "could impact cognition to a greater extent than what we previously thought, and may affect a much larger proportion of the population than we realize," according to co-first author Alexandra Beaudry-Richard, who is currently completing her doctorate in research and medicine at the UCSF Department of Neurology and the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Ottawa.......You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login......"In addition to redefining B12 deficiency, clinicians should You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login in older patients with neurological symptoms even if their levels are within normal limits," she suggested in the release. ......"Ultimately, we need to invest in more research about the underlying biology of B12 insufficiency, since it may be a preventable cause of cognitive decline."......Dr. Brett Osborn, a Florida neurosurgeon and You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login, said the study supports the idea that "normal" vitamin B12 levels are "grossly inadequate" for protecting the brain from age-related decline......."Even participants with B12 levels deemed 'normal' by today's medical standards showed clear signs of neurological impairment — slower processing speeds, increased white matter hyperintensities on MRI (a marker of small vessel disease), and elevated tau protein (a biomarker of neurodegeneration). This is concerning to say the least," Osborn told Fox News Digital.......The current minimum recommendations weren't designed for optimal cognitive function or longevity, according to Osborn......."Instead, they were based on population averages — an inherently flawed approach when the 'average' person today is metabolically unhealthy. This is yet another example of mainstream medicine lagging You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login."......In Osborn's clinic, he recommends supplements of B-complex vitamins, including B12, to ensure healthy levels of homocysteine, an amino acid that is produced during protein metabolism.......You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login......"When homocysteine is elevated — a potential proxy for low B12 — brain function declines," Osborn said.......The doctor did note that the study is observational, and that "correlation doesn't prove causation."......"But do you really need a randomized controlled trial to tell you that optimizing B12 intake benefits brain health? That's like waiting for a study to confirm that eating vegetables is good for you," Osborn said. ......"The data are there. The science is crystal-clear."......You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login......Like the researchers, Osborn called for an update to the "normal" lab levels......."It's time to start You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login by optimal levels — not by whatever happens to be 'average' in an increasingly sick population. Because who wants to be normal when you can be optimal?"......Dr. Earnest Lee Murray, a You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital in Jackson, Tennessee, agreed that this study raises the question of redefining what levels constitute a B12 deficiency......."Previous studies have recommended supplementation in patients with a known vitamin B12 deficiency to mitigate cognitive issues; however, no clear evidence has been found to suggest benefit in B12 supplementation in patients without a deficiency," Murray, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital. ......The neurologist cautioned against people taking "mega-doses" of vitamins.......You are not allowed to view links. Register or LoginYou are not allowed to view links. Register or Login......"Often, high levels of vitamins, especially B12, won't cause issues; however, it can happen," Murray said. ......"I would recommend that patients who are older or at risk of developing cognitive decline discuss with their physician about being tested — not just for vitamin B12 levels, but also for other markers that could suggest improper absorption of vitamin B12."...

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