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Vitamin shots may help protect multiple sclerosis patients from severe long-term disability, a study suggests. Currently, there is no effective treatment for the chronic progressive phase of MS, when serious disability is most likely to appear. Researchers cut the risk of nerve degeneration in mice with MS-type symptoms by giving them a form of vitamin B3 called nicotinamide. The Children's Hospital Boston study appears in the Journal of Neuroscience. MS, which affects about 85,000 people in the UK, is a disease of the central nervous system. It causes the break down of the myelin sheath, a fatty protein, which coats...

Niacin expected to grow as heart treatment CLEVELAND, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- A Cleveland doctor says use of niacin as a cholesterol drug is likely to increase following the failure of a drug that was found to increase heart problems. Dr. Steven Nissen, a cardiologist at the famed Cleveland Clinic and president of the American College of Cardiology, said niacin, a B vitamin that raises HDL, commonly known as good cholesterol, is likely to increase in prominence after trials of the Pfizer Inc. cholesterol drug torcetrapib failed, The New York Times reported Tuesday. Raising HDL levels in patients helps to...

Amino acids: Key to a healthier heart? Could taking a few B vitamins cut your risk of a heart attack or a stroke? That's the suggestion from a study published last week in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).  The key is an amino acid called homocysteine, a substance made when the protein we eat is digested — already there is growing evidence to link it with cardiovascular disease, and even stroke. Homocysteine — with the help of the B vitamins including B12 and folate — is rapidly turned into other useful compounds such as the amino acids cysteine and...

A neurologist from Washington, D.C., an autonomic nervous system specialist from Philadelphia and a neuron-psychologist and psycho-pharmacologist -- both from Manhattan -- have spent a lot of time with Steven Domalewski lately.  They, and others, have been at his bedside in a Paterson hospital, using cutting-edge treatments while trying to bring the 12-year-old pitcher out of a coma."He's progressing at a really good rate," Dr. Philip De Fina said Friday. "He has definitely improved. His alertness has improved. His dad has been feeding him little bits of Italian ice, and he's breathing very well on his own."  De Fina...

A new study conducted by researchers at The University of California Irvine suggests that folates or B-vitamin nutrients found in oranges, legumes, leafy green vegetables and folic acid supplements are more effective in limiting Alzheimer's disease risk than antioxidants and other nutrients. The team led by Maria Corrada and Dr Claudia Kawas of UC Irvine's Institute for Brain Aging and Dementia analyzed the diets of non-demented men and women aged 60 and older. They compared the food nutrient and supplement intake of those who later developed Alzheimer's disease to the intake of those who did not develop the disease. "Although...

Preventing Alzheimer's disease may be as simple as increasing the amount of the B vitamin called folate that you get from fruits, green vegetables and supplements, researchers suggest in a new study. ADVERTISEMENT According to the study, older people whose folate intake is above the recommended dietary allowance are at a significantly reduced risk of developing Alzheimer's. However, the researchers cautioned that far more research is needed to establish a link between folate and the possible prevention of the brain-wasting disease. In fact, one previous study found folate encouraging the development of Alzheimer's disease. This latest study appears in the...

Magnesium VitB6 Intake Reduces Central Nervous System Hyperexcitability in Children Marianne Mousain-Bosc, MD, Michele Roche, PhD, Jean Rapin, MD, PhD and Jean-Pierre Bali, MD, PhD Department of Pediatry (M.M.-B.), CHU Nimes, FRANCEDepartment of Biochemistry (M.R.), CHU Nimes, FRANCELaboratoire de Biochimie, Groupe Hospitalier Carémeau (J.P.B.), Nimes Cedex, FRANCEDepartment of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Bourgogne, Dijon (J.R.), FRANCE Address reprint requests to: Dr. Jean-Pierre Bali, Laboratoire de Biochimie, Groupe Hospitalier Carémeau, Place du Professeur Robert Debré, 30029 Nimes Cedex, FRANCE. E-mail: bali2003@yahoo.frObjective: Ionic magnesium (Mg2+) depletion has long been known to cause hyperexcitability with convulsive seizures in rodents, effects...