B‐vitamins for neuroprotection: Narrowing the evidence gap
- 15 March 2012
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Wiley in BioFactors
- Vol. 38 (2), 145-150
- https://doi.org/10.1002/biof.1006
Abstract
A compelling and extensive epidemiological literature documents the strong association of inadequate status of folate, vitamin B12, and to a lesser degree vitamin B6, with increased risk of neurodegenerative and cerebrovascular disease. Mildly elevated plasma total homocysteine, which is biochemically related to low status of these B‐vitamins, is similarly associated with increased risk for these conditions. This, together with experimental data showing that experimental B‐vitamin deficiency and/or hyperhomocysteinemia can cause a variety of neurological and vascular deficits in animals, has provided the evidence base and motivation for a growing number of large randomized, double‐blind clinical trials aimed at determining the efficacy and safety of B‐vitamin supplementation for preserving cognitive function in older adults. Despite some encouraging trials showing benefit of B‐vitamins for slowing brain atrophy and cognitive decline, the majority of these studies have not demonstrated that B‐vitamin supplementation has protective or therapeutic cognitive benefit. There are many possible explanations for the inconsistency between the clinical trials and for the discrepancy between their findings and the predictions of the epidemiological evidence. Among these are the possibility of inadequate hypotheses guiding the trials, design limitations of the individual trials, and inherent limitations of nutritional randomized clinical trials. Resolving these issues will be crucial for designing definitive trials and ultimately for guiding nutritional interventions for cognitive protection.This publication has 54 references indexed in Scilit:
- One-carbon metabolism and Alzheimer's disease: is it all a methylation matter?Neurobiology of Aging, 2011
- Folate is related to phosphorylated neurofilament-H and P-tau (Ser396) in rat brainJournal of Neurochemistry, 2011
- Changes in Presenilin 1 gene methylation pattern in diet-induced B vitamin deficiencyNeurobiology of Aging, 2011
- B-vitamin deficiency causes hyperhomocysteinemia and vascular cognitive impairment in miceProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2008
- The Worldwide Challenge of the Dementias: A Role for B Vitamins and Homocysteine?Food and Nutrition Bulletin, 2008
- Protein Phosphatase 2A Methyltransferase Links Homocysteine Metabolism with Tau and Amyloid Precursor Protein RegulationJournal of Neuroscience, 2007
- The central nervous system in animal models of hyperhomocysteinemiaProgress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry, 2005
- Folate and homocysteine metabolism in neural plasticity and neurodegenerative disordersTrends in Neurosciences, 2003
- Homocysteine, B vitamins, and cognitive deficit in the elderlyThe American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2002
- HOMOCYSTEINE AND VASCULAR DYSFUNCTIONLife Sciences, 1997