“Normal” levels of vitamin B12 may not be enough to prevent dementia, new research finds.
Researchers at the University of California San -Francisco studied 231 healthy older adults (averaging 71 years) who had no dementia or mild cognitive damage.
Blood tests showed that their B12 levels averaged 414.8 pmol/L, while the recommended minimum level in the United States is only 148 pmol/l.
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Participants who had lower B12 levels were found to have “slower cognitive and visual processing speeds” when conducting tests, which is linked to a “subtle cognitive decline”, according to UCSF press release.
The effect was more pronounced with age.
“Normal” levels of vitamin B12 may not be enough to prevent dementia, new research finds. (istock)
The people with lower levels also had more lesions in the white matter in their brain, which can be a warning sign of cognitive decline, dementia or stroke, the researchers found.
The findings were published in annals of neurology on February 10th.
Based on these results, the researchers recommend updating the current B12 requirements.
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“Previous studies that have defined healthy amounts of B12 may have missed subtle functional manifestations of high or low levels that can affect people without causing excessive symptoms,” said senior author Ari J. Green, MD, of the UCSF departments of neurology and Ophthalmology and the Weill Institute for Neurosciences.
“Review the definition of B12 deficiency to incorporate functional biommarkers could lead to earlier intervention and prevention of cognitive decline.”
“Review the definition of B12 deficiency to incorporate functional biommarkers could lead to earlier intervention and prevention of cognitive decline.” (istock)
The researchers acknowledged that the study only included older adults who may have “specific vulnerability” to lower levels of B12.
These lower levels, however, “could affect cognitiveness to a greater extent than what we thought before, and can influence a much larger proportion of the population than we are aware,” according to co-first author Alexandra Beaudry-Richard, who at the moment Complete her doctorate in research and medicine at the UCSF Department of Neurology and the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Ottawa.
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“In addition to redefining B12 deficiency, clinicians must consider supplementation in older patients with neurological symptoms even if their levels are within normal limits,” she suggested in the release.
“Ultimately, we need to invest in more research on the underlying biology of B12, because it may be a preventive cause of cognitive decline.”
“Even participants with B12 levels considered ‘normal’ according to today’s medical standards showed clear signs of neurological damage.”
Dr. Brett Osborn, a Florida neurosurgeon and longevity expert, said the study supports the idea that “normal” vitamin B12 levels are “inadequate” to protect the brain from age decline.
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“Even participants with B12 levels considered ‘normal’ according to today’s medical norms showed clear signs of neurological damage -slower processing speeds, increased white material hyperintenses on MRI (marker of a small ship sickness), and raised Tau -protein ( Biomarker of neurodegeneration). Digital.
The current minimum recommendations were not designed for optimal cognitive function or length, according to Osborn.
One neurosurgeon and longevity expert recommend supplements of B-complex vitamins, including B12, to ensure healthy levels of homocistein, amino acid produced during protein metabolism. (istock)
“Instead, they were based on population averages – an immensely impaired approach when the ‘average’ man today is metabolica. This is yet another example of main flow after science.”
In the Osborn clinic, he recommends supplements of B-complex vitamins, including B12, to ensure healthy levels of homocistein, amino acid produced during protein metabolism.
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“When homocistein is raised – a possible proxy for low B12 – brain function decreases,” Osborn said.
The doctor noted that the study is observational, and that “correlation does not prove cause.”
“Even participants with B12 levels considered ‘normal’ according to today’s medical standards showed clear signs of neurological damage.” (istock)
“But do you really need a random controlled attempt to tell you that optimizing B12 consumption benefits brain health? That’s how to wait for a study to confirm that eating vegetables like you,” Osborn said.
“The data is there. The science is crystal-clear.”
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Like the researchers, Osborn has called for an upgrade to the “normal” work levels.
“It’s time to start defining health with optimal levels – not by whatever happens” average “in an increasingly sick population. Because who wants to be normal when you can be optimal?”
“No clear evidence has been found to suggest a benefit in B12 supplementation in patients in the absence.”
Dr. Earnest Lee Murray, a board-certified neurologist at Jackson-Madison General Hospital in Jackson, Tennessee, agreed that this study raises the question to redefine what levels constitutes a B12 deficiency.
“Previous studies recommended supplementation in patients with a known lack of vitamin B12 to mitigate cognitive issues; however, no clear evidence has been found to suggest a benefit in B12 supplementation in patients without a lack,” Murray, who was not involved in the study News Digital.
The neurologist warned against people taking “mega-doses” of vitamins.
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“Often, high levels of vitamins, especially B12, will not cause problems; yet it can happen,” Murray said.
“I would recommend that patients older or with the risk of developing cognitive decline discuss with their doctor about testing – not only for levels of vitamin B12, but also for other markers that might suggest incorrect absorption of vitamin B12.”
