There has always been an association between healthy cognitive function and an optimal intake of B-complex vitamins. The latest research now seems to have focused on the mechanism(s) by which cognitive function is compromised by insufficient B-vitamin consumption. That focus is now largely centered around homocysteine levels, as these rise in the absence of adequate B-vitamin nutritional support. Elevated homocysteine levels play a role in a literal plethora of health issues – including age-related cognitive decline, a plethora that may now include reducing the length and density of capillaries in the brain as a predisposition to that decline.
According to research published in the prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers found that laboratory mice deprived of vitamins B6, B12, and folic acid were outperformed by their B-complex-supplemented counterparts in standard murine cognitive function tests, but this in and of itself was not new. What was revealing in this study was the fact that when the cerebral vasculature of the B-vitamin-deprived mice was assessed, it was discovered that the capillaries in their brains underwent reductions in both length and density. This led the researchers to conclude that such microvascular aberrations “may mediate the association” between high homocysteine levels and age-related cognitive decline in humans.
Source: Troen AM, et al. B-vitamin deficiency causes hyperhomocysteinemia and vascular cognitive impairment in mice. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Aug 26;105(34):12474-9.
For more information see Advanced B Complex.
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