Vitamin E and Alzheimer disease: the basis for additional clinical trials.
Many lines of evidence suggest that oxidative stress is important in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer disease. In particular, beta-amyloid, which is found abundantly in the brains of Alzheimer disease patients, is toxic in neuronal cell cultures through a mechanism involving free radicals. Vitamin E prevents the oxidative damage induced by beta-amyloid in cell culture and delays memory deficits in animal models. A placebo-controlled, clinical trial of vitamin E in patients with moderately advanced Alzheimer disease was conducted by the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study. Subjects in the vitamin E group were treated with 2000 IU (1342 alpha-tocopherol equivalents) vitamin E/d. The results indicated that vitamin E may slow functional deterioration leading to nursing home placement. A new clinical trial is planned that will examine whether vitamin E can delay or prevent a clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer disease in elderly persons with mild cognitive impairment.
Grundman
M
M
Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study, 9500 Gilman Drive 0949, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0949, USA. mgrundman@ucsd.edu.
D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000517:prevention & control; D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation; D008996:Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D012642:Selegiline / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D000975:Antioxidants; D008996:Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors; D014810:Vitamin E; D012642:Selegiline