Folic Acid and Cognitive Powers in 'Older Adults'

There is now stronger evidence that folic acid can boost the cognitive powers among older adults. Researchers in Holland now say that the powers attributed to folic acid supplements regarding their ability to increase the powers of cognition among older adults are real.

The results of the study, published in the January 20, 2007, issue of Lancet conclude that folic acid can actually enhance brain function, vis a vis cognition, in certain categories of people. Earlier studies had yielded no clear result regarding this issue. Most studies however, came to the conclusion that folic acid supplements helped enhance the cognitive powers of people with high homocysteine levels.

Homocysteine is an amino acid found in the human body. However, high levels of homocysteine have been linked to a greater risk of cardiovascular illness, stroke, and even possibly Alzheimer’s disease.

Mario Carrillo, director of medical and scientific relations at the Alzheimer’s Association, said that it seems true that folate would actually increase the powers of cognitive function in people with high levels of homocysteine. Folate, is another term for folic acid, and is a B vitamin which is better known for its help in preventing neural tube defects in newborn babies.

The study was first reported in 2005 at the prevention conference of the Alzheimer’s Association. During the course of the study, researchers gave a daily supplement of 800 micrograms of folic acid to 818 adults in the age group of 50 to 70 years in Holland. The patients were selected at random. They were given either the specified dosage of folic acid or a placebo for a period of three years. One thing all these adults had in common was a low level of folic acid and high levels of homocysteine.

The results were quite conclusive, and showed that those adults who received folic acid had enhanced cognitive function, while this was not the case for those who had been given the placebo. The increased cognitive function was indicated by a faster speed of processing information and a stronger memory. Another strong result was the 576 percent increase in folate levels among these patients, in sync with a 26 percent decrease in the levels of homocysteine.

The same set of researchers also discovered that older adults who used folic acid supplements demonstrated a higher ability to hear low-frequency over time than those who took the placebo. They reported this finding in the January 2, 2007 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Added Richard Finnell, Regents Professor in the Center for Environmental and Genetic Medicine at the A&M Health Science Center Institute of Biosciences and Technology at Houston, “This underscores the importance of B vitamins. They do more than protect babies from birth defects.”

Other functions of folic acid include helping the body digest and utilize proteins, help in protein as well as DNA synthesis, red blood cell production, providing the stimulus for the formation of digestive acids, and enhancing one’s appetite.

According to the National Institutes of Health, folate is found naturally in beans, legumes, citrus fruits, wheat bran and other whole grains, green leafy vegetables, poultry, pork, shellfish, as well as liver.