Vitamin in Marmite may aid recovery after a stroke

A COMMON vitamin might help the brain to recover after a stroke, research suggests.

Vitamin B3, or niacin, is widely used to fortify breakfast cereal and is especially abundant in Marmite yeast extract.

US researchers have discovered that if rats are given niacin after a stroke has been induced, they sprout new nerve cells and blood vessels. They have now started a trial to see if a slow-release form could benefit stroke patients.

"If this proves to also work well in our human trials, we'll have the benefit of a low-cost, easily tolerable treatment," said Dr Michael Chopp, of the Henry Ford Neuroscience Institute in Detroit.

The researchers studied the effects of B3 on ischaemic stroke, which accounts for 87 per cent of cases. It occurs when the blood supply to the brain is obstructed, causing neurons to die.

Niacin helps to keep arteries clear by raising levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), the "good" form of cholesterol.

Dr Andrew Russman, at Henry Ford Hospital, said:

"If we prove that treating patients with niacin helps to restore neurological function after a stroke, we're opening a whole new avenue of treatment."