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MONDAY, Sept. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Older individuals with low levels of vitamin B12 seem to be at increased risk of having brain atrophy or shrinkage, new research suggests.

Brain atrophy is associated with Alzheimer's disease and impaired cognitive function.

Although the study, published in the Sept. 8 issue of Neurology, can't confirm that lower levels of B12 actually cause brain atrophy, they do suggest that "we ought to be more aware of our B12 status, especially people who are vulnerable to B12 deficiency [elderly, vegetarians, pregnant and lactating women, infants], and take steps to maintain it by eating a balanced and varied diet," said study co-author Anna Vogiatzoglou, a registered dietician and doctoral candidate in the department of physiology, anatomy and genetics at the University of Oxford, in England.

"It's worth looking at B12 levels. It's a simple blood test," affirmed Dr. Shari Midoneck, an internist at the Iris Cantor Women's Health Center in New York City. "It doesn't hurt to take B12."

Good sources of the vitamin include meat, fish, milk and fortified cereals.

According to the study authors, vitamin B12 deficiency is a public health problem, especially among older people.

This study involved 107 volunteers aged 61 to 87 who were cognitively normal at the beginning of the study. All participants underwent annual clinical exams, MRI scans and cognitive tests and had blood samples taken.

Individuals with lower vitamin B12 levels at the start of the study had a greater decrease in brain volume. Those with the lowest B12 levels had a sixfold greater rate of brain volume loss compared with those who had the highest levels of the vitamin.

Interestingly, none of the participants were deficient in vitamin B12, they just had low levels within a normal range.

"They all had normal B12 levels, yet there was a difference between the higher levels and the lower levels in terms of brain shrinkage, which is new information which could potentially change what we recommend to people in terms of diet," said Dr. Jonathan Friedman, an associate professor of surgery and neuroscience and experimental therapeutics at Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine and associate dean of the College of Medicine, Bryan-College Station campus.

Other risk factors for brain atrophy include high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol.

Not only might B12 levels be a modifiable risk factor for cognitive decline, it might also be a clue to help clinicians assess cognitive problems earlier on.

Right now, it's not clear what the biological mechanisms behind the link might be, nor is it clear whether added B12 would avert brain atrophy.

"We are doing a clinical trial in Oxford in which we are giving B vitamins [including B12] to elderly people with memory impairment," Vogiatzoglou said. "In this trial, we are doing MRI scans at the start and the end, and so, we will be able to find out if taking B vitamins really does slow down the shrinking of the brain. The trial will be completed in 2009."

More information

Learn more about vitamin B-12 at the National Institutes of Health.

MONDAY, Sept. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Older patients who sleep during the day while in rehabilitation have less functional recovery, new research shows.

For the study, which was expected to be published in the Sept. 1 issue of Sleep, scientists tracked the sleeping patterns and other predictors of recovery (e.g., mental status, hours of therapy received, reason for admission) in 245 older adults (average age 80.6 years) who had been admitted for rehabilitation following an incident such as an orthopedic problem, a heart problem, or a stroke.

Sleep measurements were taken in the days after admission to the rehabilitation facility, and again three months later.

The researchers found that the participants slept for an average of 2.1 hours during the daytime, which represents 15.8 percent of the time between waking up and bedtime. Those who had higher percentages of daytime sleep showed significantly less functional recovery, even after the researchers adjusted for other predictors of recovery. And more daytime sleeping remained a predictor of less recovery at the three-month follow-up.

"We were surprised that the results suggested that it was the excessive daytime sleeping in the rehabilitation facility which was associated with less improvement in their physical functioning," said principal investigator Cathy A. Alessi, of the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System and the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, said in a university news release. "We were also surprised by how long this effect lasted. For up to three months later, more sleeping during the daytime while they were in the rehabilitation facility was still related to their physical functioning after being discharged."

The researchers speculated that people's sleep may be disrupted while they are in the hospital due to existing medical conditions, sleep disorders, or environmental factors. Furthermore, it may be that daytime sleeping triggers decreased motivation and effort expended during therapy sessions, which could hinder recovery during rehabilitation.

These findings are important, since older people who are admitted to the hospital due to an illness or injury sometimes require a period of therapy and recovery in a rehabilitation facility (e.g., nursing home) before returning home.

Unlike mental status or hospital readmission, which are difficult or impossible to change, sleep is a predictor for rehabilitation outcomes that can be modified. Interventions to improve sleep in older people during rehabilitation may promote better recovery after an illness or injury.

More information

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke has more about sleep disorders.

THURSDAY, Aug. 28 (HealthDay News) -- A new study says that 13 percent of American seniors suffer mistreatment from various forms of abuse.

The University of Chicago researchers said the chief forms were verbal abuse (9 percent), being taken advantage of financially (3.5 percent), and physical abuse (0.2 percent). The team also found that seniors with physical impairments were most likely to suffer verbal abuse.

"Older people with any physical vulnerability are about 13 percent more likely than those without one to report verbal mistreatment, but are not more likely to report financial mistreatment," study co-author Linda Waite, a professor of sociology, said in a university news release.

The analysis of national survey data from 3,005 community-dwelling adults, ages 57 to 85, also found that adults in their late 50s and 60s are more likely to report verbal or financial mistreatment than those who are older.

"Perhaps the respondents are including fairly routine arguments, perhaps about money, with their spouse, sibling or child in their reports, or perhaps older adults are more reticent to report negative behavior," lead author Edward Laumann, a professor of sociology, said in the news release.

Women were twice as likely as men to report verbal abuse; Hispanics were about half as likely as whites to report verbal abuse and 78 percent less likely to report financial mistreatment; and blacks were 77 percent more likely than whites to report financial mistreatment.

Of those who reported verbal abuse, 26 percent said their spouse or romantic partner was responsible, 15 percent said it was their children, and the remainder of respondents said friends, neighbors, co-workers or bosses were responsible. Of the respondents who reported financial abuse, 57 percent said a relative other than a spouse, parent or child was taking advantage of them.

The study was published in the Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences.

"The population of this country is aging, and people now live with chronic diseases longer. So, it's important to understand, from a health perspective, how people are being treated as they age," Laumann said.

More information

The AGS Foundation for Health in Aging has more about elder abuse  .