Does Beta-Carotene Preserve Memory?
Study Shows Supplements May Help Keep Thinking Skills Sharp
Hu says the area is worthy of more study but points out that the evidence so far is conflicting: "There have been randomized clinical trials that have demonstrated the potential harm resulting from beta-carotene supplementation in pill form."
In an editorial accompanying the study, Kristine Yaffe, MD, a researcher at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and University of California, San Francisco, also calls for caution. She references several other studies in which beta-carotene and other antioxidants have had little or no effect on cognitive function.
"It's good to be cautious," says Grodstein.
Although the effect of the supplements was modest, she notes that the benefits she found were greater than what was observed in another study in which Aricept, a drug commonly used to treat the symptoms of Alzheimer's, was given to healthy people to test its effect on cognitive function.
Does Beta-Carotene Preserve Memory?
Study Shows Supplements May Help Keep Thinking Skills Sharp
Second Opinions continued...
Hu says the area is worthy of more study but points out that the evidence so far is conflicting: "There have been randomized clinical trials that have demonstrated the potential harm resulting from beta-carotene supplementation in pill form."
In an editorial accompanying the study, Kristine Yaffe, MD, a researcher at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and University of California, San Francisco, also calls for caution. She references several other studies in which beta-carotene and other antioxidants have had little or no effect on cognitive function.
What to Do Next?
"It's good to be cautious," says Grodstein.
Although the effect of the supplements was modest, she notes that the benefits she found were greater than what was observed in another study in which Aricept, a drug commonly used to treat the symptoms of Alzheimer's, was given to healthy people to test its effect on cognitive function.