Vitamin B3 may stave off Alzheimer's, rodent study finds

California, United States, November 6: A daily dose of vitamin B3 may cut the risk of developing Alzheimer's, a degenerating neurological disorder, results of rodent study embarked in United States concluded.

While the rodent study clearly revealed that vitamin B3 supplements blocked the activity of a protein called phosphorylated tau, the primary build up in Alzheimer's disease, mimicking similar effects in humans might require extensive research, researchers marked.

For the study held at the University of California at Irvine, researchers added vitamin B3 supplements to drinking water. The cocktail was then administered to laboratory rodents genetically engineered to develop a version of human Alzheimer's disease.

Both before and after the vitamin B3 intake the rodents went through memory gauging tests wherein they were let in a shallow pool of water and closely observed if they could swim back to the location of the platform.

The afflicted mice who took the vitamin scored better as compared to non-afflicted counterparts. "Cognitively, they were cured," study’s lead author, Kim Green, researcher at the University of California at Irvine said, "They performed as if they'd never developed the disease."

The mice were also tested for levels of certain chemicals associated with the condition. Tests revealed that levels of one, the phosphorylated tau, were significantly lower in the forgetful mice. Medically, the protein is responsible for abnormal 'deposits' in brain cells, called 'tangles'. The build up of the deposits directly contributes to the brain damage which affects Alzheimer's patients.

While it is still unclear whether the results of the rodent study could be replicated onto humans, researchers believe one should concentrate on his diet and take adequate supplements as other vitamins like the E, C and B12 are already known to cut the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

Vitamin B3 is commonly found in foods like pork, peanuts, turkey, chicken, veal, fish, salmon, swordfish, tuna and sunflower seeds.

Alzheimer’s, one of the most common forms of dementia is an incurable, degenerative, and terminal neurological disorder. The condition afflicting an estimated 5.2 million Americans typically causes confusion, irritability, aggression, frequent mood swings, language breakdown, and long-term memory loss.

The findings of the study were published online November 5 in the journal ‘The Journal of Neuroscience'.