As a result, physicians are less enthusiastic about prescribing them for prevention of Alzheimer's. In addition, because nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can increase the risk of bleeding ulcers and kidney disease in older persons, they are not currently recommended for Alzheimer's disease prevention. However, no adverse side effects were noted from this dose of Vitamin E during the two year study. Because pathological evidence of Alzheimer's disease may be present in the brain for many years prior to the development of symptoms, it is possible that Vitamin E could also delay the onset of, or even prevent, the disease. This remains still not proven and is the subject of a large national study.
Vitamin E is safe and has multiple benefits, especially for the heart.
We have also learned that persons who develop strokes are at a much greater risk of developing symptoms of Alzheimer's disease than those who do not. Results from a study of a large number of nuns suggest that the presence of a small stroke will substantially increase the likelihood that a person will develop symptoms of Alzheimer's. Nuns who showed no evidence for stroke often had no symptoms of Alzheimer's in spite of pathological evidence of the disease in their brains. In contrast, nuns who had had strokes, often silent, were 21 times more likely to have symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. Controlling risk factors for stroke such as hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, and smoking appear to be important ways to reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer's.