Preventing dementia: do vitamin and mineral supplements have a role?

In thisEvidently Cochrane blog, Sarah Chapman looks at the latest evidence on vitamin and mineral supplements for preventing dementia or at least slowing cognitive decline. Can they really help?" I have a clear memory of watching a tv drama with my mum, when I was about fifteen. As we watched a vivid portrayal of a middle-aged woman struggling to cope with her mother, declining with dementia, Mum voiced a fervent hope that she would never be like that. With her own mother enjoying good health in her nineties, the possibility must have seemed as remote to her as middle age did to me. But now I am there, and so is my mum, diagnosed with Alzheimer ’s last summer.Is there anything my bright, busy mother could have done to reduce her risk of dementia? This woman, who for much of her adult life had a fulfilling career and later voluntary work; was happily busy with friends and family; enjoyed theatre-going, singing in a choir and participating in various special interest groups; read voraciously and had a daily crossword habit. Is there? "Despite the many important and positive inroads into our understanding of dementia in recent years, and an increasing shift in emphasis from dementia being something people suffer from to something they can live with, dementia frightens us. Katie Marais from Alzheimer ’s Research UK says that “How can I prevent dementia?” is one of the most common questions put to them, and explainshere what last year ’sLancet Commission on Dementia foun...
Source: Cochrane News and Events - Category: Information Technology Authors: Source Type: news