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Can Vitamins Reverse Dementia?

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Frederika Malichová

Frederika Malichová

Neuroscientist at the University Of Cambridge.

Vitamins and Dementia

Dementia refers to an umbrella term for neurodegenerative diseases leading to cognitive decline. The most common and widely known type of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease. However, other dementia types such as sporadic frontotemporal dementia and familial frontotemporal dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies and vascular dementia also exists.

The evidence behind whether vitamin supplementation can reverse the symptoms of dementia is inconclusive. Some studies suggest that vitamin supplementation does not have any effect on cognitive abilities while others suggest otherwise.

A study by Baker et al. did not detect any improvement of cognitive functioning when observing the effects of high-dose vitamin-mineral supplementation in non-vitamin-deficient elderly [1].

However, another study found that vitamin B supplements show benefits in slowing cognitive decline, especially in patients who take vitamin B on a regular basis [2].

Further, Vitamin E supplementation is associated with a decreased risk of dementia and especially Alzheimer’s disease.

Interestingly, although Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to an increased dementia risk, whether the supplementation of Vitamin D is beneficial is up to debate. In some studies, supplementation of Vitamin D shows positive effects on cognitive abilities, whereas in others it does not [3, 4, 5, 6].

Frederika Malichová

Frederika Malichová

Frederika is a postgraduate researcher at the University of Cambridge, where she investigates new biomarkers for Frontotemporal Dementia and other tauopathies. Her research has been published at prestigious conferences such as the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference 2023. She obtained her BSc in Biomedical Sciences from UCL, where she worked closely with the UK Dementia Research Institute.