Better brains, naturally.

Damage to Brains from Living near Power Lines

Home prices are often lower when the residence is located near power lines. Unfortunately, there’s a high health cost to pay: a greater risk of Alzheimer's and senile dementia.

A Swiss study of close to 5 million people looked at how living near power lines affects the risk of death from certain neurodegenerative diseases. The results were just released by the American Journal of Epidemiology.

The research shows that the closer you live to residential power lines (these lines were 220-380 kV) and the longer you live there, the greater your risk of Alzheimer’s disease and senile dementia. The researchers did not find an increase in Parkinson’s disease or multiple sclerosis.

In particular, they looked at living 50 meters (54 yards) or less from the power lines compared to 600 meters (about 1/3 mile). Those who lived in close proximity for 15 years had twice the risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia as those who lived far away. Those living close to the lines for less years had an increased risk, just not as high.

New Hope in Vitamin B3 for Alzheimers and Memory

A promising new study is being conducted in England to determine if high doses of vitamin B3 in the form of nicotinamide can slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

“At the moment we're talking about a disease for which there is no sort of treatment and this is likely to be far safer than any of the upcoming drugs. Nicotinamide is just vitamin B3, it's really cheap, it's safe and easy to get hold of,” said [researcher] Green.

From the article in the Guardian: “Research so far suggests that over-the-counter vitamin supplements will contain too little vitamin B3 to have an effect. Volunteers taking part in the trial will be given 2g of the vitamin a day. Previously scientists have only seen serious side effects in doses of 10g or more, which were found to cause liver damage.” Read the full article here.

A co-author of the animal study used to investigate effects of the supplement suggests that large doses of nicotinamide may improve some aspects of memory even for those not showing signs of Alzheimer’s.

If you are going to try this approach for memory, don’t substitute other forms of B3 such as nicotinic acid. If on medications, check with your health care practitioner.