Nutrients good for Alzheimer\'s patients

Daily intake of the medical food Souvenaid improves memory in people with mild Alzheimer''s disease (AD), according to a new study. Souvenaid contains a patented combination of nutrients (Fortasyn Connect) specifically designed to stimulate the formation of nerve connections called synapses. Experts believe loss of synapses is the underlying cause of memory loss and cognitive dysfunction in AD. Philip Scheltens, MD, PhD, Professor of Cognitive Neurology and Director of the Alzheimer Centre at the VU University Medical Centre in Amsterdam presented results of the second clinical trial - called Souvenir II - at the 4th International Conference on Clinical Trials in Alzheimer's Disease (CTAD) in San Diego, California. Preclinical studies have shown 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. Souvenir II, conducted at 27 centres in six European countries, was designed to confirm that the benefits seen in Souvenir I persist for 24 weeks. Participants in the blind study were randomly assigned to drink 125 ml. of Souvenaid or a control drink. During 24 weeks, memory composite scores from the Souvenaid group were significantly better than those from the control group. The significant effect on memory performance was confirmed by individual tasks of the NTB memory domain.