B Vitamins Slow Alzheimer's and Grey Matter Loss

Memory Loss

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Case Adams, Naturopath

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Researchers from the University of Oxford have determined that B vitamin supplementation can slow and possibly reverse the progression of Alzheimer's symptoms along with cognitive impairment.
The researchers – from Oxford's Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences - conducted a clinical trial with 156 elderly patients who had mild cognitive impairment and a high risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease. The researchers randomized the patients and for two years, gave one group a daily supplement with 800 micrograms of folic acid, 20 milligrams of vitamin B6, and 500 micrograms of vitamin B12. They gave a placebo supplement to the control group.
Before the trial and during the testing period, the researchers utilized magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to measure the patients' atrophy levels of grey matter in their brains. Atrophying grey matter is a sign of the progression of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. Atrophy in the grey matter is shown as the amount of grey matter shrinks in the imaging tests.
While grey matter regions did shrink among both groups, the researchers found that those given the B vitamin supplements had about seven times less grey matter shrinkage than did the placebo group.
The researchers also found that those whose grey matter shrunk fastest had higher levels of homocysteine, and those with higher homocysteine levels received the greatest benefit from the B vitamin supplements. They summarized the effects thus:

"B vitamins lower homocysteine, which directly leads to a decrease in grey matter atrophy, thereby slowing cognitive decline."

The researchers also conducted neuropsychological testing on the patients to correlate their grey matter losses with neuropsychological function. Their testing concluded that the B vitamins not only helped reduce grey matter losses, but also reduced the drop in neuropsychological scores among the supplement group.
In their conclusion the researchers stated:

"Our results show that B-vitamin supplementation can slow the atrophy of specific brain regions that are a key component of the Alzheimer disease process and that are associated with cognitive decline."

Researchers from the University of Oxford have determined that B vitamin supplementation can slow and possibly reverse the progression of Alzheimer's symptoms along with cognitive impairment.
The researchers – from Oxford's Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences - conducted a clinical trial with 156 elderly patients who had mild cognitive impairment and a high risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease. The researchers randomized the patients and for two years, gave one group a daily supplement with 800 micrograms of folic acid, 20 milligrams of vitamin B6, and 500 micrograms of vitamin B12. They gave a placebo supplement to the control group.
Before the trial and during the testing period, the researchers utilized magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to measure the patients' atrophy levels of grey matter in their brains. Atrophying grey matter is a sign of the progression of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. Atrophy in the grey matter is shown as the amount of grey matter shrinks in the imaging tests.
While grey matter regions did shrink among both groups, the researchers found that those given the B vitamin supplements had about seven times less grey matter shrinkage than did the placebo group.
The researchers also found that those whose grey matter shrunk fastest had higher levels of homocysteine, and those with higher homocysteine levels received the greatest benefit from the B vitamin supplements. They summarized the effects thus:

"B vitamins lower homocysteine, which directly leads to a decrease in grey matter atrophy, thereby slowing cognitive decline."

The researchers also conducted neuropsychological testing on the patients to correlate their grey matter losses with neuropsychological function. Their testing concluded that the B vitamins not only helped reduce grey matter losses, but also reduced the drop in neuropsychological scores among the supplement group.
In their conclusion the researchers stated:

Our results show that B-vitamin supplementation can slow the atrophy of specific brain regions that are a key component of the Alzheimer disease process and that are associated with cognitive decline."

Other Studies Confirm the Link Between B Vitamins, Homocysteine and Alzheimer's

However, other studies have linked B vitamins and high homocysteine levels with cognitive decline, Alzheimer's disease and dementia.
For example, in a study from Korea's Ewha Womans University, 321 elderly people were studied and tested for cognitive function, together with their levels of vitamin B12, folate and homocysteine.
After using multiple regression analysis, low folate levels were associated with low scores on naming tests, and low levels of vitamin B12 in the blood were related to low scores on word list memory. High homocysteine levels were also associated with low scores on word memory and construction recall testing.
The researchers stated in their conclusion:

"These results suggest that plasma folate, vitamin B12, homocysteine and tissue factor pathway inhibitor are associated with cognitive function in cognitively impaired (Alzheimer's disease and Mild cognitive impairment) elderly and that the association was stronger in patients with Alzheimer's disease."

What is Homocysteine and why are High Levels so Bad?

Increased homocysteine levels have also been linked with cardiovascular disease – more specifically the progression of atherosclerosis or the hardening of the arteries. Thus, high homocysteine levels have been found among those who have suffered from strokes and heart attacks.
Elevated homocysteine levels are anything higher than 10-15 μmol/L depending upon the age and health of the patient. The Oxford researchers classified their high homocysteine patients as those with levels of 11 μmol.
Homocysteine and its two partners methionine and cysteine, is involved in the metabolic detoxification process called methylation. This transfers methyl groups from one molecule to another. When a methyl group is transferred to a oxidative toxin it speeds its discharge from the body. Higher levels of homocysteine are typically accompanied by higher levels of oxidative radicals and toxins in the liver and blood stream.
If not neutralized, these toxins cause oxidative damage to blood vessels and cells - including brain and nerve cells.
Various nutrients – including B vitamins as well as many other phytonutrients – are considered methyl donors: They donate methyl groups, which assists the body's detoxification and healing efforts. Healthy methylation also helps protect cellular DNA from mutation.
It should also be noted that folate - nature's form - may be a better form of the B9 vitamin than folic acid. Excessive folic acid supplementation has been linked with increased cancer risk. A 2009 study showed folic acid fortification increased colon cancer risk.
Food sources of folate include parsley, turnip and mustard greens, collard greens, romaine lettuce, spinach, asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower and beets. Lentils and brewer's yeast are also good sources. In supplements, the 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF) nutrient offers an option to synthesized folic acid.

Learn how to naturally speed up the detoxification process.

REFERENCES:
Douaud G, Refsum H, de Jager CA, Jacoby R, Nichols TE, Smith SM, Smith AD. Preventing Alzheimer's disease-related gray matter atrophy by B-vitamin treatment. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013 Jun 4;110(23):9523-8.
Morris MS. The role of B vitamins in preventing and treating cognitive impairment and decline. Adv Nutr. 2012 Nov 1;3(6):801-12.
Kim G, Kim H, Kim KN, Son JI, Kim SY, Tamura T, Chang N. Relationship of cognitive function with B vitamin status, homocysteine, and tissue factor pathway inhibitor in cognitively impaired elderly: a cross-sectional survey. J Alzheimers Dis. 2013;33(3):853-62.
Hirsch S, Sanchez H, Albala C, de la Maza MP, Barrera G, Leiva L, Bunout D. Colon cancer in Chile before and after the start of the flour fortification program with folic acid. Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2009 Apr;21(4):436-9.
Pietrzik K, Bailey L, Shane B. Folic acid and L-5-methyltetrahydrofolate: comparison of clinical pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. Clin Pharmacokinet. 2010 Aug;49(8):535-48.
Originally published: 2013-08-08
Article updated: 2019-05-25

Case Adams is a California Naturopath with a PhD in Natural Health Sciences, and Board Certified Alternative Medicine Practitioner. He has authored 26 books on natural healing strategies. His focus is upon researching, writing about and authenticating traditional therapies with clinical evidence. His books can also be found at Heal Naturally. Contact Case at case@caseadams.com.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of GreenMedInfo or its staff.

How Music Can Help You Combat Anxiety

How Music Can Help With Anxiety

This is an extensive study but very interesting and helpful.

Written By:

Ali Le Vere, B.S., B.S. - Senior Researcher-Gre...

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Music, which may be the most ancient human language, has the potential to improve neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders by creating new brain cells and neural connectivity. Not only that, but music restores hormonal and immunological balance in a way mirroring adaptogenic herbs
.
The Evolution of Music

Music, the universal language, has been woven into the fabric of human culture since time immemorial. Rather than being a modern human invention, the creation of musical harmonies, using the voice as an instrument, and moving to rhythms may have long been crystallized as part of the human condition. A historical facet of the human condition, research implicates music in the cementing of social bonds, the establishment of monogamy, and as a primitive mode of communication (1). In fact, by forging social communion and engendering a sense of group identity, music may have been foundational to the emergence of large-scale pre-human civilizations (1).

When Homo sapiens arrived in Europe forty thousand years ago, they drove the Neanderthals, one of our hominid cousins, to extinction. Archeological evidence demonstrates that the arrival of Homo sapiens coincided with the time to which elaborate art adorning caves found in southeastern France and northern Italy has been dated, as well as other artistic expressions such as carved figurines, symbolic artifacts, and sophisticated bone and ivory musical instruments (1). While some researchers argue that music may have contributed to the social cohesion that led Homo sapiens to dominate over our Neanderthal cousins, there are many flaws in this logic as Neanderthal instruments may have been made from perishable objects which were not subject to preservation (1).

However, archaeologists have surmised that a more primitive human relative, Homo heidelbergensis, as well as Neanderthals, had access to at least one instrument at their disposal: the human voice (1). Their fossils contain a bone known as the hyoid at an anatomical position resembling that of contemporary humans, which means that their voice boxes were descended enough to allow speech and singing (1). This implies that singing conferred some sort of evolutionary advantage, the nature of which has been hotly contested. One promising theory, advanced by Leslie Aiello and Robin Dunbar, is that primitive song mediated the transmission of emotional states at a larger scale than physical grooming of insects, a more rudimentary form of social bonding, would accomplish (1).

However, even more plausible is that the versatility of the voice evolved in order to facilitate motherese, an early form of baby-talk that allowed prehistoric mothers to console their babies from a distance while they engaged in other activities (1). Scientist Dean Falk, a proponent of this theory, advocates that this motherese became the precursor to proto-language and proto-music (1). Therefore, our brains are literally wired from birth to receive musical tones. In fact, neural circuits originally serving another function may have been repurposed in evolutionary history for the processing of music.

This may be why anthropological and ethnomusicological studies reveal that contemporary hunter-gatherer cultures use music therapeutically, which provides us insight as to the ways in which our predecessors may have incorporated music into their healing arts. That many people in fast-paced industrialized societies lead lives devoid of music is a testament to the evolutionary mismatch of modern times which has divorced us from our very nature.

Music Rewires The Brain

In one study, researchers examined the brains of individuals using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a technique that tracks cerebral blood flow (2). They found that when subjects listened to songs from their preferred musical genres, they exhibited enhanced levels of brain connectivity (2). Most pronounced was connectivity in the brain region called the default mode or resting-state network, which is implicated in internal mentation, or “the introspective and adaptive mental activities in which humans spontaneously and deliberately engage in every day” (2).

This brain area, which may be compromised in neurological disorders such as autism, schizophrenia, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer's disease, is correlated with internally focused thoughts such as daydreaming, past recall, empathy, and self-awareness, which illuminates why music has been shown to trigger self-referential thoughts and memories (3, 4, 5). “Described as functioning somewhat like a toggle switch between outwardly focused mind states and the internal or subjective sense of self, this network appears to include mind-wandering experiences such as imagining the future, the discovering of new possibilities (hopes), and the affective significance of aspirations or dreams” (6).

Activation of the default mode network (DMN) is also crucial for processing psychosocial interactions and more advanced cognitive abilities such as reading comprehension, creativity, moral evaluations, and divergent thinking (7). In addition, stimulating the DMN may recruit previously encoded memories and support cognitive processes within domains that are compromised in neurodegenerative diseases, such as the processing of autobiographical, episodic, and socio-emotional memories as well as self-reflective thought (6).

In the fMRI experiment, the hippocampus was another brain region where connectivity between nerve cells was altered when subjects heard their favorite song, regardless of its acoustic characteristics (6). The hippocampus is essential for the acquisition of emotional and social memories, a process which may be disturbed in neurodegenerative disease (6)
.
Music Therapy Elicits Neuroregeneration

Music has been demonstrated to affect the cerebral nerves in humans spanning the age gamut from fetus to adult (Abbott, 2002), perhaps suggesting that music acts as a tonic for the brain. Researchers are in fact proposing that music modulates the secretion of steroid hormones, which ultimately incites repair and regeneration of cerebral nerves.

In the animal kingdom, we can find plausibility for a mechanism in which steroid hormones promote neurogenesis, or the ability to create new nerve cells, a process which was previously perceived to be arrested after birth in mammals (8). For instance, in song birds, steroid hormones such as testosterone and estrogen play a role in multiple steps of neurogenesis such as organization and survival of brain cells and the production of neural networks where vocal behaviors reside (9, 10).


In addition, research is intimating that music facilitates cerebral plasticity, or the expansion of neural networks and connectivity in response to the environment. Music-induced cerebral plasticity creates changes in brain cell numbers and activity in response to music which can persist for a long time (11). Studies comparing populations of singers to non-singers and music students to music non-learners, for instance, highlight that music triggers neural plasticity (8). Neural plasticity and the creation of new brain circuits may compensate for functional deficits when one neural network takes over for another that is malfunctioning (8).
The mechanism whereby music leads to neural plasticity is likely mediated by steroid hormones, which are generated by nerve cells and elicit neuroactive and neuroprotective roles (13). For example, the sex steroids estrogen and testosterone elevate levels of so-called neurotrophic substances such as nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which contribute to nerve cell proliferation (cell division) and survival (8). Both are also closely “involved with the expression, regeneration, repair and protection of nerve cells via gene expression regulation and non-genomic circuits” (8).

4 Exciting Advances in Food and Nutrition Research

4 Exciting Advances in Food and Nutrition Research


 Helpful facts in this post.



Newswise — Chicago (April 22, 2017) – New discoveries tied to how food affects our body and why we make certain food choices could help inform nutrition plans and policies that encourage healthy food choices. The Experimental Biology 2017 meeting (EB 2017) will showcase groundbreaking research in food policy, nutrition and the biochemistry of food.
 
Dark Chocolate Shows Protective Effects in Mouse Model of Aging
Oxidative stress and inflammation increase with aging and are thought to play an important role in the development of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. In a new study, researchers from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine show that the epicatechin, a flavanol found in foods such as dark chocolate, reduced damaging oxidative stress and neuroinflammation in a mouse model of aging. Just two weeks of treatment with epicatechin not only suppressed levels of oxidative stress and neuroinflammation that would normally be increased in this mouse model, but also improved memory and anxiety levels in the mice. The researchers say their results may help explain the beneficial effects on memory seen in people who consume dark chocolate.