WASHINGTON—Researchers are continuing to explore how the B vitamins folate, B6 and B12 interact and support brain health. Lindsay H. Allen, a nutritionist with USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Western Human Nutrition Research Center in Davis, Calif., has collaborated in ongoing research examining the role of the B vitamins in preventing age-related cognitive decline. She noted many studies in this area have yielded inconsistent or conflicting results, making further investigations necessary.
One such study is the multiyear Sacramento Area Latino Study on Aging (SALSA), which started in 1996 and includes nearly 1,800 Hispanic seniors. The research team found lower levels of folate were associated with symptoms of dementia and poor brain function; the impairments were detectable even though fewer than 1 percent of subjects were actually deficient in folate. In addition, women—but not men—with low levels of folate had a significantly greater incidence of depression compared to those with adequate levels. Finally, the SALSA team’s work with B12 found a related protein—holotranscobalamin (holoTC)—may help in detecting cognitive decline earlier and more accurately.
The researchers have published these and other findings, beginning in 2003 and continuing through this year, in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, The European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, The Journal of Nutrition and The Journal of Nutrition, Health, and Aging.