In a new study, researchers found that a nutritional drink designated a “food for special medical purposes” could benefit people with mild cognitive impairment, the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s disease.
The drink contains the multi-nutrient combination Fortasyn Connect, which include DHA and EPA (omega 3); uridine monophosphate; choline; vitamins B12, B6, C, E, and folic acid; phospholipids; and selenium.
The multi-nutrient combination Fortasyn Connect was developed by Richard Wurtman and colleagues at MIT.
The current research was done by a team from Spain.
People with the earliest stage of Alzheimer’s have mild but noticeable cognitive impairment.
Previous research has shown that Fortasyn Connect can have benefits in early AD.
In the study, the team aimed to whether this multi-nutrient combination can benefit patients with mild cognitive impairment.
The team tested 43 patients with mild cognitive impairment and their average age was 70.
Seventeen patients received the beverage and 24 patients were in the group without intervention, and two patients withdrew.
The team found that the group with no nutritional intervention had much worse health outcomes than the group receiving the product.
These people had worse performance in memory performance, executive functions, and attention during the time of the study (1 year), while the group receiving the product showed a stabilization in these tests.
In addition, caregivers showed a stabilization or improvement in the group with nutritional intervention.
The team concludes that the product can benefit patients with mild cognitive impairment who are at risk of progressing to the dementia stage of Alzheimer’s.
The product could provide nutritional support and help benefit brain neurons.
Future work needs to test if the product can help develop a new treatment used in clinical settings.
One author of the study is Maria Sagrario Manzano Palomo, MD, Ph.D., Department of Neurology.
The study is published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease Reports.
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