Vitamin E & Selenium Treatment for Alzheimer's

Alzheimer's disease is a fatal condition that destroys brain cells, affecting a patient's cognitive function, memory and behavior. Although there is currently no cure for Alzheimer's, many researchers are working on different ways of attacking the problem. Using vitamin supplements---such as vitamin E and selenium---is one of the ways researchers have been studying. Understanding vitamin E and selenium treatment for Alzheimer's involves weighing what the science says so far and understanding what research is left to conduct.

Considerations

• Researchers have shown that vitamin E has some benefit in slowing the progression of Alzheimer's. A study presented at the 2008 American Academy of Neurology convention followed 850 Alzheimer's patients who took vitamin E supplements and reported a small benefit. Also, a recent analysis of clinical data presented at a national geriatrics meeting in 2009 reported that vitamin E may have some benefit in slowing the progress of Alzheimer's. This same study showed that combining vitamin E with an anti-inflammatory compound provided additional benefit in treatment, over and above the benefit seen from vitamin E. Because selenium is a natural anti-inflammatory, and because both vitamin E and selenium have a protective effect on brain cells, researchers have hypothesized that combining it with vitamin E may help treat Alzheimer's disease.

  A review by the well-respected Cochrane Collaboration, however, has shown that there is no solid evidence that vitamin E makes a difference in the treatment of Alzheimer's. Cochrane goes on to say, however, that one of the primary reasons it found no benefit was the low number of large, well-run studies measuring vitamin E's impact.

Research currently underway

• The National Institute for Aging---part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health--- began a research study in 2002 to evaluate the efficacy of vitamin E and selenium as a treatment for Alzheimer's disease. Although the National Cancer Institute had already begun a research project studying the effects of vitamin E and selenium on cancer, the NIA added an arm to this study to learn more about the supplements' effects on Alzheimer's. The study enrolled over 10,000 patients and separated them into four groups: One group receives daily vitamin E and selenium supplements, one group receives daily vitamin E pills but no selenium, a third group receives selenium but no vitamin E, and a fourth group receives two placebo pills (neither vitamin E nor selenium). Researchers expect to publish results of the study in summer 2012.