This shocking Alzheimer’s news is a major wakeup call for patients, caretakers, and doctors

JAMA: A shocking turn in Alzheimer’s research

When Dr. Spreen sent me the details on this one, he said he was shocked for two reasons…

Shock One: The study is published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Dr. Spreen remembers a time when JAMA editors wouldn’t think of running the results of a trial that showed vitamin benefits — ESPECIALLY a trial where a supplement completely blows a drug out of the water.

But that’s exactly what happened here.

“Worse than useless”

This study included more than 560 patients with “mild to moderate” Alzheimer’s split into four groups. One group received the drug memantine. Another received 2000 IU of vitamin E daily. A third received both the drug and the supplement. And the last group took a placebo.

During the five-year trial, the drug produced no benefits. None! That’s more than 1,800 days of drug use with nothing to show for it. Well, there was one thing to show. Those who used the drug had a markedly higher rate of “infections or infestations.”

Now we go from infections and ZERO benefits to this…

Patients taking just vitamin E had nearly 20 percent reduction in functional decline. That’s huge! And what’s more, caregivers for these patients actually ended up reducing their daily assistance by two hours.

And that brings us to Dr. Spreen’s Shock Two: AD patients who took the drug AND the vitamin experienced no benefits.

None of the reports I’ve read gave much attention to this result. But Dr. Spreen points out why it’s so significant…

Dr. Spreen: “That means that not only does memantine NOT WORK, but it actually STOPS any improvement of a nutrient that was just SHOWN TO BE EFFECTIVE. So, the drug is worse than useless; it’s actually detrimental.”

Please share this critical news with anyone you know with a family member suffering from AD. It may help their loved one improve and give them more time away from caregiving.

It’s a rare win-win-lose. A win for patients and caregivers and a lose for Big Pharma, served up compliments of the most mainstream of mainstream sources, JAMA.

Sources:
“Effect of Vitamin E and Memantine on Functional Decline in Alzheimer Disease” Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 311, No. 1, January 2014, jama.jamanetwork.com