03.23.09
Indication: Stroke
Source: American Stroke Association Conference, February 19th, San Diego, CA.
Research: Researchers set out to determine whether high doses of three B vitamins-folic acid, B6, B12-could reduce the risk of stroke by lowering levels of homocysteine, an amino acid that in high amounts is thought to contribute to higher stroke risk. The trial randomly assigned 5522 adults with heart disease to either take a daily regimen of several vitamins or placebo pills for five years. The vitamin regimen included a daily dose of 2.5 mg of folic acid, 50 mg of vitamin B6, and 1 mg of vitamin B12. These levels are higher than people would normally get from their diets or from multivitamins.
Results: About 5% of the subjects wound up suffering a stroke during five years of follow-up. Researchers showed that risk was lower in patients who followed the vitamin regimen-suggesting that 13 out of 1000 could avoid stroke. Other groups that gained more benefit from the vitamin treatment: people younger than 70; those who had higher cholesterol and homocysteine levels at the start of the study; those from areas without folic acid fortification in food; and those who weren't receiving antiplatelet drugs (such as Plavix) or cholesterol-lowering statins at the start of the study.