Effects of vitamin B12 on bright light on cognitive and sleep-wake rhythm in Alzheimer-type dementia

The present study investigated the effects of vitamin B-12 (VB12) On circadian rhythm in Alzheimer-type dementia (ATD). Twenty-eight ATD patients were treated with bright light therapy (BLT) for 8 weeks. For the latter 4 weeks. half were treated with VB12 with BLT (BLT + VB12). We evaluated the cognitive state with Mini-Mental State Examination and the circadian rhythm with actigraphy after the fourth and eighth week. After the first 4 weeks BLT improved the circadian rhythm disturbances and cognitive state especially in the early stage of ATD. Although the latter 4 week-BLT caused no significant effects on the circadian rhythm: BLT+ VB12 improved the vigilance level during the daytime. These results suggest that VB12 has some efficiency to enhance vigilance for ATD patients.