Vitamin B may keep dementia at bay

University of California-San Francisco researchers have conducted studies to look at the role B vitamins-B-6, B-12 and folate may play in preventing decline in brain function.

 

The research is important because many studies of B vitamins and brain function have given inconsistent or conflicting results.

 

The study showed that in participants with lower levels of folate were associated with symptoms of dementia and poor brain function.

 

In women, but not men, low levels of folate were associated with symptoms of depression. In fact, female volunteers whose plasma folate levels were in the lowest third were more than twice as likely to have symptoms of depression as volunteers in the highest third.

 

In research with vitamin B-12, the SALSA team determined that a protein known as holoTC, short for holotranscobalamin, might be key to a new approach for detecting cognitive decline earlier and more accurately.