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Dec 25, 2008 4:45 pm US/Eastern
Study: Antioxidant Supplement May Help Memory
(KDKA)
People might joke about having "senior moments," but behind the nervous laughter is the worry that something might be disconnecting.
Now, a study is looking at a nutritional supplement that might help keep those brain connections firing on all cylinders.
Babs Zielazinski is a dynamic octogenarian who's taken to the keyboard in the last few months. Her enthusiasm is part of a plan to keep her mind active for the long term.
She's also joined a Rush University Medical Center study to see if an antioxidant supplement can prevent Alzheimer's disease.
"What we're trying to do is to test to see if the cerefolin nac, which is a combination of high dose B vitamins and an antioxidant, will help to replace some of the antioxidant capabilities that the body is losing," says Dr. Raj Shah, a geriatrician.
As we age, antioxidant production drops and may allow damaging proteins to build-up in the brain.
"The oxidative stress causes problems with causing the nerve cells not to function as well, and to die sooner, and that brings out the symptoms," says Dr. Shah.
Participants take a multi-vitamin plus another pill, which may be the antioxidant booster cerefolin nac.
"It'll be interesting to see if the combination of those two agents together seem to bring a little bit more benefit than just the B vitamins by themselves," Dr. Shah added.
Whether the supplement actually helps is still up in the air.
"We just have to understand what these nutraceuticals are doing and whether they're helpful or not," Dr. Shah said.
The study is currently limited to people in the Chicago area. However, Dr. Shah says if the results are promising, they will pursue a larger study.
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