| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
ORIGINAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATION |
1 From the Departments of Medicine (CL and HN-E) and Geriatric Medicine (MM, GS, and BS) at the Sahlgrenska Academy and the Department of Psychology at the Faculty of Social Sciencies (BJ), Göteborg University, Göteborg, Sweden
Background: Deficiencies of vitamin B-12, folic acid, and vitamin B-6—as defined by laboratory measures—occur in 10–20% of elderly subjects. The clinical significance remains unresolved.
Objective: The objective was to explore any association between vitamin status and vitamin treatment and movement and cognitive performance in elderly subjects.
Design: Community-dwelling subjects (n = 209) with a median age of 76 y were randomly assigned to daily oral treatment with 0.5 mg cyanocobalamin, 0.8 mg folic acid, and 3 mg vitamin B-6 or placebo (double blind) for 4 mo. Movement and cognitive performance tests were performed before and after treatment.
Results: A high plasma total homocysteine (tHcy) concentration (
16 µmol/L) was found in 64% of men and in 45% of women, and a high serum methylmalonic acid (MMA) concentration (0.34 µmol/L) was found in 11% of both sexes. Movement time, digit symbol, and block design (adjusted for age, sex, smoking, and creatinine) correlated independently with plasma tHcy (P < 0.01, < 0.05, and < 0.01, respectively); the simultaneity index and block design correlated with serum MMA (P < 0.05 for both). Vitamin therapy significantly decreased plasma tHcy (32%) and serum MMA (14%). No improvements were found in the movement or cognitive tests compared with placebo. Neither vitamin therapy nor changes in plasma tHcy, serum MMA, serum vitamin B-12, plasma folate, or whole-blood folate correlated with changes in movement or cognitive performance.
Conclusions: High plasma tHcy and serum MMA were prevalent and correlated inversely with movement and cognitive performance. Oral B vitamin treatment normalized plasma tHcy and serum MMA concentrations but did not affect movement or cognitive performance. This might have been due to irreversible or vitamin-independent neurocognitive decline or to an insufficient dose or duration of vitamins.
Key Words: Elderly • homocysteine • methylmalonic acid • cognition • movement • controlled trial
Related articles in AJCN:
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  L M L de Lau, A D Smith, H Refsum, C Johnston, and M M B Breteler Plasma vitamin B12 status and cerebral white-matter lesions J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry, February 1, 2009; 80(2): 149 - 157. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. H. Kang, N. Cook, J. Manson, J. E Buring, C. M Albert, and F. Grodstein A trial of B vitamins and cognitive function among women at high risk of cardiovascular disease Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, December 1, 2008; 88(6): 1602 - 1610. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 N. Coley, S. Andrieu, V. Gardette, S. Gillette-Guyonnet, C. Sanz, B. Vellas, and A. Grand Dementia Prevention: Methodological Explanations for Inconsistent Results Epidemiol. Rev., November 1, 2008; 30(1): 35 - 66. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R. J. Clarke and D. A. Bennett B Vitamins for Prevention of Cognitive Decline: Insufficient Evidence to Justify Treatment JAMA, October 15, 2008; 300(15): 1819 - 1821. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. S. Elkins, S. C. Johnston, E. Ziv, D. Kado, J. A. Cauley, and K. Yaffe Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase C677T Polymorphism and Cognitive Function in Older Women Am. J. Epidemiol., September 15, 2007; 166(6): 672 - 678. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 E. M. Balk, G. Raman, A. Tatsioni, M. Chung, J. Lau, and I. H. Rosenberg Vitamin B6, B12, and Folic Acid Supplementation and Cognitive Function: A Systematic Review of Randomized Trials Arch Intern Med, January 8, 2007; 167(1): 21 - 30. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
C. McCracken, P. Hudson, R. Ellis, A. McCaddon, and the Medical Research Council Cognitive Function an Methylmalonic acid and cognitive function in the Medical Research Council Cognitive Function and Ageing Study Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, December 1, 2006; 84(6): 1406 - 1411. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 H.-Y. Huang, B. Caballero, S. Chang, A. J. Alberg, R. D. Semba, C. R. Schneyer, R. F. Wilson, T.-Y. Cheng, J. Vassy, G. Prokopowicz, et al. The Efficacy and Safety of Multivitamin and Mineral Supplement Use To Prevent Cancer and Chronic Disease in Adults: A Systematic Review for a National Institutes of Health State-of-the-Science Conference Ann Intern Med, September 5, 2006; 145(5): 372 - 385. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 H. Hin, R. Clarke, P. Sherliker, W. Atoyebi, K. Emmens, J. Birks, J. Schneede, P. M. Ueland, E. Nexo, J. Scott, et al. Clinical relevance of low serum vitamin B12 concentrations in older people: the Banbury B12 study Age Ageing, July 1, 2006; 35(4): 416 - 422. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. A. McMahon, T. J. Green, C. M. Skeaff, R. G. Knight, J. I. Mann, and S. M. Williams A controlled trial of homocysteine lowering and cognitive performance. N. Engl. J. Med., June 29, 2006; 354(26): 2764 - 2772. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. E. Vollset and P. M. Ueland B vitamins and cognitive function: do we need more and larger trials? Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, May 1, 2005; 81(5): 951 - 952. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
