A landmark new study at Oxford University may have struck a major blow in the fight against Alzheimer's disease and dementia, thanks to a new discovery that Vitamin B and Omega-3 supplementation may help slow down the brain shrinkage caused by these conditions.
The study team, whose findings were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, examined 168 people exhibiting signs of dementia over a two-year span, giving one group supplements of Omega-3s, folic acids and vitamins B6 and B12. The other group was given a placebo. By the end of the two-year period, the former had shown "a virtual halt of brain shrinkage," according to the Digital Journal, indicating that the supplementation, if taken at the earliest signs of dementia and Alzheimer's, may help to significantly slow down the subsequent decline in brain health and memory support.
While there have been other methods for treating or slowing Alzheimer's explored in the past, they're often very complicated, requiring a complex set of steps and lifestyle choices to achieve the desired impact. If true, this new discovery could mark the first instance of such a relatively easy way of avoiding Alzheimer's.
"This is a very exciting and important result," Oxford professor David Smith tells the Daily Express, a U.K. news publication. "It is the first treatment to show Alzheimer's related brain shrinkage can be prevented. It means that something so simple as keeping your omega-3 levels high and supplementing B vitamins if you are at risk could dramatically reduce a person's risk."
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