"Whereas some have argued that cognitive decline is the beginning of a continuum leading to dementia," they wrote, "others have argued that the cause of age-related cognitive decline differs from that of dementia and that age-related cognitive decline is not an early state of mild cognitive impairment or dementia."
They added, "Although folic acid(Drug information on folic acid) improved performance on tests of memory, including delayed recall, additional research is needed to determine whether folic acid supplementation can reduce the risk of mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's disease."
Their study encompassed a secondary endpoint analysis of the Folic Acid and Carotid Intimamedia Thickness (FACIT) trial, which is looking at folic acid's effect on atherosclerosis in men and women ages 50 to 70.
The study evaluated persons with elevated plasma total homocysteine (13 ?mol/L or more) who could be expected to benefit from homocysteine-lowering folic acid. All 818 participants also had normal serum vitamin B12 at baseline.
