Women who have low levels of folate,
the by-product of folic acid found in the blood, appear to be at greater risk of
Alzheimer's disease, according to results of a study in Catholic nuns.
In the study of 30 nuns who participated in a long-term study of Alzheimer's
disease, half had brain changes consistent with the memory-robbing illness at
autopsy. The women, aged 78 to 101 when they died, had lived at the same convent
for most of their lives, according to Dr. David A. Snowdon and colleagues at the
University of Kentucky in Lexington.
Snowdon's team looked at data collected earlier in the study and found that
those women with Alzheimer's disease were more likely to have low blood levels
of folate than women without the illness. None of the other nutritional markers
analyzed in the blood samples was related to brain degeneration or Alzheimer's
disease, according to the report in the April issue of the American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition.
The authors note that the study could not determine whether low levels of
folate actually cause Alzheimer's. And the findings do not provide any evidence
that taking folic acid supplements can prevent the disease or slow it down. It
is possible that the women had low blood levels of folate due to problems
absorbing or metabolizing the nutrient. The women all ate in the same kitchen
and, presumably, had similar intakes of folic acid.
The researchers call for further research in this area, noting that there
are several possible explanations for the relationship between the nutrient and
this disease.
Folic acid, a nutrient found in green leafy vegetables, liver, kidney, whole
grains and nuts, is important in the development of the central nervous system
and in the maintenance of blood vessels. Lack of this nutrient can cause birth
defects in the developing fetus.
