Page 215 - Mind Games The Aging Brain and How to Keep it Healthy

Regain an Agile Brain • 199

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0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
Never used 3 or fewer 4 to 14 15 or more
years years years
Estrogen Use

Figure 6-6 Relative Risk of Contracting Alzheimer’s Disease.
Data from Jon Queijo,“Tracking the Estrogen Effect, Connections
to Memory and Alzheimer’s Disease,” Brain Work (January/February,
1998):1-3.

Vitamin E and ginkgo, rich in antioxidants, also have
been demonstrated to slow the progress of Alzheimer’s dis-
ease in more than half the patients taking these supplements.
Ginkgo is a regulated drug in Europe. In the 1980s, it was the
drug most widely prescribed, at 120 mg daily, to increase
concentration. The standard dosage was 40 mg, with 24 per-
cent ginkgo flavoneglycosides and 6 percent terpenelactone
as the active ingredients, taken three times daily. Although
this dose of ginkgo is considered safe, it has a mild blood-
thinning effect and can lead to restlessness, diarrhea, or vom-
iting in some users. Vitamin E was given at a dose of 2,000
I.U. per day, and studies indicate that it increased the
amount of time before Alzheimer’s patients required institu-
tional care. Note that 800 I.U. per day of vitamin E is consid-
ered safe and that increasing the dose to 2,000 I.U. per day