Our vacation in Florida was supposed to be about exercise. Given the articles that have come to my attention while we were down here this will be more about medications instead. Cindy has taken two medications since October 2013. I already reported on the problem with one of those medications, donepezil (Aricept). Now there is a cautionary tale about the other one, memantine (Namenda and other brand names).
This morning I came across a study confirming the benefits of Vitamin E for slowing the advance of Alzheimer’s, now posted to my Facebook page.. That is not a new revelation, but the way the study was set up was particularly noteworthy. This was not a review of clinical documents, or an experiment involving mice. No, this was an actual controlled clinical study involving a large number of humans in four test groups: Vitamin E, memantine, VE + memantine, and placebo (the control). The results were not what Forest (manufacturer of Namenda) would want to see.
There was a slight improvement in slowing the advance of Alzheimer’s for memantine with or without VE, yet not “statistically significant” in the parlance of science speak. This means that the difference could still be attributed to chance. However, there was marked improvement for the subjects that took Vitamin E alone. Here’s the kicker: memantine interfered with the ability of VE to slow the advance of Alzheimer’s.
This revelation must have been reported in all the major US media outlets, right? No doubt it will in time, but my first exposure to it was from a Filipino media outlet. Memantine is meant for those with moderate to severe Alzheimer’s. Cindy fits in that category now, but she was started on memantine before I started her on supplementary Vitamin E, which means that at best the superior benefits of Vitamin E were blocked.
Do I now stop memantine as well for Cindy? The answer is not as clear cut as for donepezil. Yet for those diagnosed with mild Alzheimer’s, or even just worried about their brain health the answer is clear: take Vitamin E. Be mindful that, being fat soluble, Vitamin E can be toxic in high dosage … but not likely if you are fit and getting plenty of exercise.
