Nutritional intervention helps in mild Alzheimer's disease

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-11/uoc--nih110411.php

Public release date: 4-Nov-2011
Contact: Jeffree Itrich
University of California - San Diego
Clinical trial findings show memory improvement with daily intake of medical food product

A second clinical trial of the medical food Souvenaid confirmed that daily intake of the nutritional intervention improves memory in people with mild Alzheimer's disease (AD). Results of the trial - called Souvenir II - were presented at the 4th International Conference on Clinical Trials in Alzheimer's Disease (CTAD) in San Diego, California on Friday, Nov. 4, 2011 by Philip Scheltens, MD, PhD, Professor of Cognitive Neurology and Director of the Alzheimer Center at the VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam.

CTAD is sponsored by the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the European Alzheimer's Disease Consortium (EADC).

Souvenaid contains a patented combination of nutrients (Fortasyn Connect) specifically designed to stimulate the formation of nerve connections called synapses. Loss of synapses is thought by many Alzheimer's experts to be the underlying cause of memory loss and cognitive dysfunction in AD. Preclinical studies showed that the nutrients in Fortasyn Connect promote the growth of new brain synapses. Subsequently, in a study called Souvenir I, Souvenaid taken once per day over 12 weeks was shown to improve scores on standardized memory tests.

"I'm encouraged by the results of this second trial, but we need to do more analyses and further studies to fully understand the findings," said Scheltens. "These positive results give me the energy to go forward."


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