Back in December 2019, we wrote about research finding that vitamin supplements not only did not improve health, but they were found to be associated with an increase in all-cause deaths. This came to my attention in a BBC story about how vitamin supplements might actually be bad for you. This wasn't really news; it was just one more compilation of negative evidence about vitamin supplements. Consistent with the Alzheimer's Association research conclusions at the time of publication, we said in Beating the Dementia Monster that no supplement had been shown to reverse, stop, or even slow the progress of Alzheimer's disease. (Some supplements, such as vitamin B-12, could affect the progress of other dementias.)
Fast-forward to September 2022, and the Alzheimer's Association may be changing their tune -- at least tentatively.
In the September, 2022 edition of Alzheimer's and Dementia; the Journal of the Alzheimer's Association, they published the results of a large clinical trial in the UK that did find a correlation between "cognitive benefits" and the administration of multi-vitamin supplements to mostly elderly white men.
The study involved 2,260 subjects, and results were controlled for the presence of cardiovascular disease. As we said in Beating the Dementia Monster, there is a strong correlation between cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer's disease. I presume they wanted to verify that the improvement with respect to Alzheimer's disease wasn't just a secondary effect from the vitamins helping with cardiovascular disease.
The Alzheimer's Association is so encouraged by the findings of this study, that the Chief Science officer, Maria Carillo, issued a press release to announce it. While they were very circumspect in the discussion, and they didn't recommend that people just start taking vitamins, it's unusual for the Alzheimer's Association to issue a press release about an isolated study like this one.
What multivitamins? They used Centrum Silver in the study, which I believe is a fairly popular formulation.
One part of the research was profoundly disappointing to me. They were also studying the ability of cocoa powder as a supplement to affect the progress of Alzheimer's disease. One of the highlights of my day is taking my ration of dark chocolate whose anti-oxidant properties I'm told will help with my Alzheimer's disease. But the research came up empty on any benefit from cocoa. (But I still have faith.)
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