Low B-12, high homocysteine reduces brain volume

Bonnie - this should not come as a surprise to our clients or readers of this blog.

Older people with low levels of vitamin B12 may be more prone to age-related memory declines and brain shrinkage. This finding, reported in Neurology, comes from researchers at Chicago's Rush University Medical Center. They found that older people with blood markers associated with vitamin B12 deficiency had the smallest brains and the lowest scores on tests measuring thinking, reasoning, and memory.

Though the new study doesn't prove that vitamin B12 deficiency caused those problems, older adults are more likely than younger people to have lower levels. As we get older, our stomachs produce less of the acid that breaks down the vitamin to make it available for absorption. Older people also take more drugs that inhibit absorption, such as metformin and reflux medication.

Earlier this month, a group from Oxford University reported that vitamin B-12 supplementation also appeared to slow cognitive declines in the same group of high-risk patients with early memory loss. by lower homocysteine levels. In the Rush study, researchers saw much more rapid declines in memory in people who were deficient in B12. Brain imaging confirmed that higher levels of homocysteine and methylmalonate were associated with smaller brain size. Tangney says it is too soon to recommend vitamin B12 supplementation as a strategy for slowing memory loss and brain shrinkage, even though the small U.K. study found that practice to be beneficial. Smith agrees, but adds

In conclusion, elderly people with early evidence of memory impairment should have their homocysteine level checked. If levels are high, medically supervised vitamin B supplementation may be appropriate.