B-vitamins Treatment for Improvement of Cognitive Function

Effect of B-Vitamins on Cognitive Function in Elderly People

Observation studies documented a correlation between plasma concentrations of homocysteine and cognitive decline with age. The study hypothesis was that high doses of B-vitamins (as effective homocysteine lowering treatment) can improve cognitive function in elderly people.

We performed a treatment with therapeutic doses of B-vitamins (folic acid, cobalamin, vitamin B6) for 45 days. We collected blood and tested the concentrations of the metabolic markers in blood at start, 3 weeks later and at the end. Cognitive function was tested at start and at the end.

Inclusion Criteria:

• age > 65 years and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) > 35 ml/min

Exclusion Criteria:

• acute cancer or those who had coronary or cerebral event or thrombosis in the last 3 months were not eligible for the study.
• furthermore, people who had dementia (mini-mental state-examination scores MMSE < 15)
• those treated with B-vitamins
• those with renal insufficiency
• those receiving drugs that affect Hcy-metabolism (methotrexate, anti-epileptics, L-dopa) were not allowed to participate