Folate, Vitamin B12, and Serum Total Homocysteine Levels in Confirmed Alzheimer Disease

Abstract

ALZHEIMER DISEASE (AD) and vascular dementia—the 2 major subtypes of dementia—have distinct pathological features, but these frequently coexist,¹ and the combination results in more severe symptoms of dementia.^2,3 In addition to the established role of cerebral infarction in vascular dementia,⁴ recent studies have suggested that cardiovascular disease,^5,6 atherosclerosis, and abnormalities in the cerebral microvasculature^7-10 may also be relevant to the cause of AD. Furthermore, the ϵ4 allele of apolipoprotein E (apoE) is a risk factor not only for AD¹¹ but also for cardiovascular disease, and the presence of both may interact in the cause of AD.^7,12