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High doses of vitamin E combined with prescription drugs may slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. What’s more, the benefits appear to increase over time. This news comes from a study involving 540 patients with probable Alzheimer’s, all of whom were taking drugs used to prevent the breakdown of acetylcholine, a brain chemical involved in learning and memory. Of the total number of patients in the study, 208 took 800 IU to 2,000 IU of vitamin E daily; 49 patients took anti-inflammatory drugs but no vitamin E and 177 patients took vitamin E plus anti-inflammatories; 106 patients took nothing. After five years, the researchers reported a "small to medium" slowing of functional decline among the patients on vitamin E alone, and a "small" slowing of the decline among patients taking anti-inflammatories but no "E." Those taking both vitamin E and anti-inflammatories had the best results of all. The safety of taking large doses of vitamin E wasn’t assessed in this study. Results were presented at the annual scientific meeting of the American Geriatrics Society in May 2009.