Folic Acid and Vitamin B12 May Prevent Memory Loss
A recent report published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition states that oral supplements of olic acid (FA) and Vitamin B12 may help prevent memory loss in certain elderly patients.
Vitamin B12 deficiency, commonly observed in elderly populations, has been associated with abnormal psychiatric symptoms. The use of folic acidto enhance cognitive skills and improve psychiatric illnesses has been investigated in other studies.
This study randomly assigned 900 adult participants, aged 60-74 years, experiencing symptoms of depression and living in communal dwellings, to receive oral capsules of either 400ug FA + 100ug vitamin B12 or a placebo.
Cognitive function measurements after 12 and 24 months evaluated using the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status-Modifed (TICS-M) indicated that long-term combined supplementation of FA and vitamin B12 by mouth may improve immediate and delayed memory performance. Further studies are necessary to confirm the studys findings in more general populations.
