Alzheimer’s Disease and Tranquilizers

The rate of Alzheimer’s Disease has soared in recent decades. No one can really tell us why. If you know just three people over age 85, the odds are that you probably know at least one person with Alzheimer’s Disease. One out of every nine Americans over the age 65 has Alzheimer’s Disease. The repercussions of these facts are very serious, not only at a personal level for the individuals and families affected, but also for our society with so many people needing prolonged supportive care 24/7. Environmental factors seem to have an impact on the risk of Alzheimer’s Disease, as do various dietary influences and exercise patterns. New data from a study published in the British Medical Journal indicate that the rising use of tranquilizers might be one important reason for the rise in Alzheimer’s. Investigators reviewed records of 9,000 elderly persons over the period of 2000 - 2009, on whom they had at least six years of data. Nearly 1,800 developed Alzheimer’s Disease during the interval. They matched each Alzheimer’s Disease patient with four healthy controls (same age and gender) comparing their usage of benzodiazepines (Ambien, Ativan, Dalmane, Halcion, Klonopin, Librium, Lunesta, Restoril, Serax, Sonata, Xanax, Valium). They carefuly controlled their analysis for all kinds of potentially confusing factors, including other diseases and medications. Patients who had used these medications very little (less than 90 doses over those six to ten years) did not have an increased risk of Alzheimer’s Disease. Those who had used more, were more likely to develop Alzheimer’s Disease and the more they used, the more likely they were to have developed Alzheimer’s Disease. People who had used any of these drugs for more than six months, were twice as likely to have developed Alzheimer’s Disease by the end of the study. Six months (180 days) of use over six to ten years averages out to be twice a month or even less. Many who use these drugs use them much more than that. The study did not investigate the incidence of Alzheimer’s Disease for those individuals using even more of these drugs. As the likelihood of Alzheimer’s Disease rose with increasing use of the drugs, those who used even more might then be even more likely to develop Alzheimer’s Disease. Nor did they look at longer use. Again, I have seen many patients who have been using these drugs for decades, not just years. These drugs are on what is called the BEERS list. The BEERS list was first developed in 1991 by a geriatrician who catalogued...

Vitamin E and Dementia

The chorus of superficial and ill-informed anti-supplement articles continues to drown out better studies proving the benefits of supplements. Two studies published around the turn of the new year added support for using vitamin E to protect brain functioning against dementia, including Alzheimer’s. The first study was a small segment of a very big ongoing Finnish study called Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Aging and Dementia (CAIDE), researching connections between cardiovascular disease and memory disorders. The larger study, which began in 1998, led to other discoveries, such as the substantial cognitive benefits of 3-5 cups of coffee a day and, even more profoundly, the brain-enhancing impact of habitual exercise. In this study they measured the levels of several forms of vitamin E in 140 healthy seniors, and followed them over eight years with cognitive testing. They found a strong correlation between certain forms of vitamin E and reduced risk and severity of dementia. As I have written about several times in the past, there are many, many forms of vitamin E. The kind of E contained in most supplements, (dl alpha tocopherol) is synthetic. Our bodies can use the “d” form but not the “l” form. Even d alpha tocopherol is just one form of many naturally occurring forms, AND a great deal of research tells us that other forms (especially gamma tocopherol and probably delta tocopherol as well as the tocotrienols) are the ones our bodies really need. Furthermore, it is well-recognized that our measurement (i.u.) is really only a measure of activity in rats, not people. It was not surprising then, that in this study the researchers found that gamma tocopherol, beta tocotrienol and total tocotrienols were the effective forms of “vitamin E”. This should now be obvious, as the same has been seen in other studies. For example, findings that these “other” forms of vitamin E lower Alzheimer’s disease but NOT the plain old alpha tocopherol version, and this one as well. In 2012, the international consortium of experts empaneled to review research in their area of specialization, concluded that vitamin E was not helpful but, even then, they also felt the need to comment that the other forms of vitamin E might well be effective, calling for (as always) more research. Another new study published Jan 1 in the Journal of the American Medical Association provided additional encouragement. This study compared the response of Alzheimer’s patients to placebo, a conventional drug, the conventional drug plus 2,000 iu of the not so ideal form of vitamin E (alpha tocopherol)...