Lee Swanson Research Update

Vitamin E Intake Linked to Longevity in Alzheimer’s Patients

September 2008

An increased intake of vitamin E supplements may improve the survival of people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study presented at the American Academy of Neurology 60th Anniversary Annual Meeting in Chicago.

Regular supplementation with vitamin E was associated with 26% lower mortality rates, according to data obtained from 847 people with Alzheimer’s disease.

“Vitamin E has previously been shown to delay the progression of moderately severe Alzheimer’s disease. Now, we’ve been able to show that vitamin E appears to increase the survival time of Alzheimer’s patients as well,” said lead author Valory Pavlik, PhD., from Baylor College of Medicine. “This is particularly important because recent studies in heart disease patients have questioned whether vitamin E is beneficial for survival.”

Dr. Pavlik indicated that the results of the study, a long-term follow-up of an Alzheimer’s disease patient cohort, are in line with a randomized, placebo-controlled trial reported in the New England Journal of Medicine (336:1216-1222, 1997), which showed a beneficial effect of vitamin E (2,000 IU total per day) in Alzheimer patients.

In the current study, Pavlik and co-workers followed 847 people with Alzheimer’s disease (average age 73.5, 67% female) for an average of 4.9 years. The standard recommendation for the patients was to consume 2,000 IU of vitamin E daily from commercially available supplements.

“The daily amount of vitamin E taken by patients in this study was much higher than what is currently recommended for the general population,” Pavlik said.

At the end of the study, the researchers report that approximately 66% of subjects consumed the recommended daily dose of vitamin E twice a day along with an Alzheimer’s drug (a cholinesterase inhibitor). Less than 10% of the group took vitamin E alone, while about 15% consumed no vitamin E.

Consumption of the vitamin, with or without the cholinesterase inhibitor, was associated with a 26% reduction in all-cause mortality compared to those who didn’t take vitamin E, reported Pavlik and co-workers.

In addition, the study found vitamin E, plus a cholinesterase inhibitor, may be more beneficial than taking either agent alone.

American Academy of Neurology 60th Anniversary Annual Meeting

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