Have you taken the Food for the Brain Cognitive Function Test?  If so, you may have been advised to find out your homocysteine level.                                                                                                        

 

Recent research completed at Oxford University has shown that you can prevent both the age-related memory loss and brain shrinkage associated with Alzheimer’s disease. 

 

According to the research team at Oxford University, “high levels of homocysteine are associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer’s.”

 

The Homocysteine Test from YorkTest Laboratories helps identify if you have a raised level of homocysteine in your blood.

Professor David Smith at Oxford University states, “Alzheimer’s is a preventable disease, not an inevitable part of the ageing process. The trick is to identify any decline in memory function as early as possible and take the necessary prevention steps.”

 

The Homocysteine test is a quick and easy 100% home test that delivers reliable laboratory test results within just 10 days, all from the comfort of your home.

 

Check out Waterford Today at http://bit.ly/jrv0Vv

The two-year randomised clinical trial is the largest to study the effect of B vitamins on mild cognitive impairment, and one of the first disease-modifying trials in the Alzheimer’s field to show positive results in people. Around 1 in 6 elderly people over the age of 70 has mild cognitive impairment, experiencing problems with memory, language, or other mental functions, but not to a degree that interferes with daily life. Around half of people with mild cognitive impairment go on to develop dementia – mainly Alzheimer’s disease – within five years of diagnosis.

Certain B vitamins – folic acid, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 – are known to control levels of the amino acid homocysteine in the blood, and high levels of homocysteine are associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer’s.

The team found that on average the brains of those taking the folic acid, vitamin B6 and B12 treatment shrank at a rate of 0.76% a year, while those in the placebo group had a mean brain shrinkage rate of 1.08%. People with the highest levels of homocysteine benefited most, showing atrophy rates on treatment that were half of those on placebo.

Along with rate of brain shrinkage, the team from the Oxford Project to Investigate Memory and Ageing also monitored cognitive test scores, revealing that those with the slowest rate of shrinkage scored more strongly. The team suggests that, since the rate of brain atrophy is known to be more rapid in those with mild cognitive impairment who go on to develop Alzheimer’s, it is possible that the vitamin treatment could slow down the development of the disease. Clinical trials to test this should now be carried out, they add.