RESEARCH NEWS: Nutriceutical Combination Improves Memory and Cognitive Performance

Nutriceutical Combination Improves Memory and Cognitive Performance

In a placebo-controlled study performed by researchers from the University of Massachusetts, supplementation with a combination nutraceutical (that contained folic acid, vitamin B12, vitamin E, S-adenosylmethionine, N-acetyl cysteine, Acetyl-L-carnitine) was found to significantly improve cognitive performance. Use this information to market and merchandise neutraceutical supplements - consumers can refer to the hard evidence from medical literature as well as the perspective from you, the retailer.

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Summary: In a placebo-controlled study involving older men and women without dementia, supplementation with a combination nutriceutical (containing folic acid, vitamin B12, vitamin E, S-adenosylmethionine, N-acetyl cysteine, Acetyl-L-carnitine) was found to significantly improve cognitive performance, assessed via the California Verbal Learning Test II and the Trail-Making Test, as compared to placebo. During a 3-month open-label extension to the study, all subjects who received the supplement showed increasing improvements. In a separate, 6-month, open-label trial, subjects taking the supplement were found to have identical improvements. When the supplement was withdrawn, cognitive performance declined to baseline levels, and when the supplement was resumed, cognitive performance improved once again. Improvements in Trail-making and Digit-memory tests were found within 2 weeks of subjects receiving the supplement, as compared to placebo, and in a 2-week open-label extension, both groups given the supplement showed beneficial effects. Subjects 74 years of age and older had an increased likelihood of not responding similarly to the nutraceutical supplement, which the authors hypothesize, "may relate to age-related difficulties in adsorption and/or basal nutritional deficiencies, or age-related cognitive decline during the course of this study." They conclude, "These findings support the benefit of nutritional supplements for cognitive performance and suggest that additional supplementation may be required for the elderly."

SOURCE: VitaSearch. "A Vitamin/Nutriceutical Formulation Improves Memory and Cognitive Performance in Community-Dwelling Adults without Dementia," Chan A, Remington R, et al, J Nutr Health Aging, 2010, 14(3): 224-30. (Address: T.B. Shea, Department of Biological Sciences; University of Massachusetts, Lowell, Lowell MA 01854, USA).