High homocysteine tied to lower mental ability

Lowered levels of B vitamins leads to high homocysteine levels. The
body needs the B vitamins to complete the cycle that removes the
homocysteine from the system. And higher homocysteine have been linked
to higher risk of heart disease.

Lowered levels of B vitamins leads to anxiety and depression, (ie.
mental functions). It would not surprise me in the least if lowered
levels of B vitamins affects other aspects of mental functioning.

Refined carbs will deplete you of the water soluble vitamins like the B
vitamins.

Eat real fresh nutrient-dense whole foods and cut the refined carbs.

TC

Roman Bystrianyk said:

Megan Rauscher, "High homocysteine tied to lower mental ability", ABC
News, October 4, 2005,
Link: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory?id=1183054

In older people, higher blood levels of homocysteine are associated
with lower mental functioning, new data indicate.

Homocysteine, an amino acid that has been tied to heart disease and
stroke, can be lowered with folate and vitamins B6 and B12. The latest
finding suggests to researchers that B vitamin supplements may help
prevent homocysteine-related cognitive decline.

"My concern," Dr. Merrill F. Elias of Boston University told Reuters
Health, "is that many physicians still do not routinely include
homocysteine determinations as part of the physical examination."

The latest data come from the Framingham Offspring Study, the ongoing
survey that's tracking the health of successive generations living in
the Massachusetts community.

For people over age 60, Elias and his colleagues report in the American
Journal of Epidemiology, increasing levels of total homocysteine in the
blood were associated with decreasing levels of cognitive performance
in several areas.

"None of the individuals in the study had experienced stroke and none
were demented, but multiple cognitive abilities were adversely affected
by increasing levels of homocysteine," Elias said.

"Most importantly," he added, "none of the relations observed were seen
for persons under 60 years of age, suggesting that interventions to
lower homocysteine early in the adult life span could prevent even
modest cognitive deficit related to higher levels of homocysteine."

It is also noteworthy, Elias said, that high vitamin B12 levels
correlated with better cognitive performance.

Results of ongoing clinical trials, the researcher added, "hold much
promise that treatment with folate, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12 may
result in lowering of homocysteine."

SOURCE: American Journal of Epidemiology, October 1, 2005.

"Roman Bystrianyk" <[email hidden]> wrote in part:

Quoted message said:

Results of ongoing clinical trials, the researcher added, "hold much
promise that treatment with folate, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12 may
result in lowering of homocysteine."

No kidding.
--
Jim Chinnis Warrenton, Virginia, USA [email hidden]

"Roman Bystrianyk" <[email hidden]> wrote in part:

Quoted message said:

Megan Rauscher, "High homocysteine tied to lower mental ability", ABC
News, October 4, 2005,
Link: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory?id=1183054

In older people, higher blood levels of homocysteine are associated
with lower mental functioning, new data indicate.

Homocysteine, an amino acid that has been tied to heart disease and
stroke, can be lowered with folate and vitamins B6 and B12. The latest
finding suggests to researchers that B vitamin supplements may help
prevent homocysteine-related cognitive decline.

"My concern," Dr. Merrill F. Elias of Boston University told Reuters
Health, "is that many physicians still do not routinely include
homocysteine determinations as part of the physical examination."

The latest data come from the Framingham Offspring Study, the ongoing
survey that's tracking the health of successive generations living in
the Massachusetts community.

For people over age 60, Elias and his colleagues report in the American
Journal of Epidemiology, increasing levels of total homocysteine in the
blood were associated with decreasing levels of cognitive performance
in several areas.

"None of the individuals in the study had experienced stroke and none
were demented, but multiple cognitive abilities were adversely affected
by increasing levels of homocysteine," Elias said.

"Most importantly," he added, "none of the relations observed were seen
for persons under 60 years of age, suggesting that interventions to
lower homocysteine early in the adult life span could prevent even
modest cognitive deficit related to higher levels of homocysteine."

It is also noteworthy, Elias said, that high vitamin B12 levels
correlated with better cognitive performance.

Results of ongoing clinical trials, the researcher added, "hold much
promise that treatment with folate, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12 may
result in lowering of homocysteine."

SOURCE: American Journal of Epidemiology, October 1, 2005.

But note the following:

Clin Chem Lab Med. 2005;43(10):1101-6.

Homocysteine, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and cognitive performance: The
Maine-Syracuse Study.

Robbins MA, Elias MF, Budge MM, Brennan SL, Elias PK.

1. Department of Psychology, University of Maine, Orono, ME, USA.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus and higher total plasma homocysteine concentrations
are each associated with an increased incidence of cardiovascular disease
and with diminished cognitive performance. Relations between homocysteine
concentrations and cardiovascular disease incidence are stronger in the
presence of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Therefore, we hypothesized that
relations between homocysteine concentrations and cognitive performance
would be stronger in the presence of type 2 diabetes. We related
homocysteine concentrations and cognitive performance on the Mini-Mental
State Examination in 817 dementia- and stroke-free participants of the
Maine-Syracuse Study, 90 of whom were classified with type 2 diabetes
mellitus. Regardless of statistical adjustment for age, sex, gender, vitamin
co-factors (folate, vitamin B(6), vitamin B(12)), cardiovascular disease
risk factors, and duration and type of treatment for type 2 diabetes
mellitus, statistically significant inverse associations between
homocysteine concentrations and cognitive performance were observed for
diabetic individuals. The weaker inverse associations between homocysteine
concentrations and cognitive performance obtained for non-diabetic
individuals were not robust to statistical adjustment for some covariates.
Interactions between homocysteine concentrations and type 2 diabetes
mellitus are observed such that associations between homocysteine and
cognitive performance are stronger in the presence of diabetes.
--
Jim Chinnis Warrenton, Virginia, USA [email hidden]