Vitamin E and Alzheimer's disease in people
What it found
In people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease, vitamin E slowed the loss of daily function.
It did not help thinking skills in people with early memory problems or in healthy older women.
What they found
Studies in people
Diet and Alzheimer's risk
Population studies suggest that eating more vitamin E through food is linked to fewer cases of Alzheimer's disease.
Mild to moderate Alzheimer's
Controlled trials found that vitamin E treatment could slow the loss of daily function in people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease.
Early memory problems
Vitamin E did not improve thinking skills in people who already had mild memory problems.
Healthy older women
Vitamin E gave no thinking benefits to generally healthy older women.
What the authors conclude
- They say better clinical trials are needed to find out if vitamin E works as a treatment for Alzheimer's disease.
- They also call for more research on whether vitamin E can prevent the condition.
How it was done
Scientists have suggested that cell damage from oxidation might play a role in Alzheimer's disease. Vitamin E is a strong antioxidant, so researchers looked at whether it could help.
The authors gathered results from population studies and controlled trials in people. These included patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease, people with early memory problems, and healthy older women. The abstract does not give exact numbers of participants or how long they were followed.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- Population studies can show a link between eating vitamin E and lower Alzheimer's rates, but they cannot prove one causes the other.
- The abstract does not say how much vitamin E was used or for how long in these trials.
The paper
- Title
- [Vitamin E and Alzheimer's Disease]
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Shinohara M, Yamada M (2015). [Vitamin E and Alzheimer's Disease]. Brain and nerve = Shinkei kenkyu no shinpo. doi:10.11477/mf.1416200330PubMed 26618765DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error