Copper Supplements May Slow Alzheimer's Progress

Copper may stabilize cognitive decline in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, believe researchers in Germany who are conducting a clinical trial to assess the effects of supplementation. Alzheimer's is a degenerative brain disease involving loss of cognitive function. It is characterized by a build-up of amyloid plaques in the brain, composed primarily of the A-beta peptide. According to the Alzheimer's Association, 4.5 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease – double the number in 1980. Incidence is expected to continue rising, to reach between 11.3 and 16 million by 2050. As the populous baby-boom generation enters its senior years, finding cheap, available means of preventing or ameliorating such conditions is important to reduce the health care burden. Researchers at Saarland University Medical Center have commenced a phase-II clinical study involving 70 patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease, who receive either 8mg of copper orotate or a placebo every day for 12 months. The team, led by Dr Thomas Bayer, head of the neurobiology division, and Dr Frank Pajonk of the department of psychiatry, was encouraged to embark on this human study following the positive results of earlier investigations. In a study published in the September issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease (vol 8, issue 1), they measured the plasma copper levels of 32 Alzheimer's patients, and assessed their cognitive abilities using a method known as the Alzheimer's disease Assessment Scale-cognitive subscale.