The concept of healthy cognitive aging is gaining importance as rapid population aging is taking place in the Western world. As a greater percentage of the population moves toward old age, their medical and primary care needs will be exacerbated, resulting in increased nancial pressure on the health-care system. Furthermore, an aging population will result in an increased prevalence of age-related neurodegenerative disorders such as dementia. In 2005, it was estimated that 24 million people

Introduction .............................................................................................................. 43 Age-Related Neurocognitive Changes ..................................................................... 45 Role of Vitamins in the Central Nervous System .................................................... 47

B Vitamins and Homocysteine ............................................................................ 47 Antioxidants and Oxidative Stress ......................................................................48 Other Micronutrients ...........................................................................................50

Vitamin Status and Cognition in the Elderly ...........................................................50 B Vitamins ........................................................................................................... 51 Antioxidant Vitamins .......................................................................................... 52 Zinc ..................................................................................................................... 53 Vitamin D ............................................................................................................ 53