Dr. Cooper and Todd Whitthorne discuss a study conducted at Yale University School of Medicine that reviewed vitamin E levels and their ability to ward off physical decline. Almost 700 patients 65 years and older participated in the study. The article, published in the Jan. 22, 2008, edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), suggests a link between vitamin E and subsequent decline in physical function for older adults.

If the level of vitamin E was less than 1.1 on the scale used, there was a marked increase (almost 60 percent) of cognitive impairments that occurred over a three-year period. The study used subjects living in Italy.

Dr. Cooper is interested in measuring plasma levels of vitamin E as a stand-alone test, like the test Cooper Clinic currently does with vitamin D.

There’s another article in JAMA that reviews testosterone supplementation in older men. During the study, lean body mass increased and fat mass decreased in the testosterone group compared with the placebo group, but cognitive function and bone mineral density did not change. Dr. Cooper discusses the findings, and advises on what circumstances prompt him to prescribe testosterone supplementation for a patient.