Alzheimer's: Supplements Score on One Memory Test, Not the Other
Graded Moderate — an analysis pooling 29 studies of about 2,000 people assigned by chance; the studies were small on average, and benefits appeared on only one of two tests.
- Design
- Meta-analysis
- Participants
- 2,000
- Duration
- —
- Funding
- National Natural Science Foundation of China; Postdoctoral and Overseas…
Probiotics with selenium, plant extracts and B vitamins beat a dummy pill on one thinking test but showed no clear benefit on a second one.
Probiotics with selenium, plant extracts and B vitamins all did better than a dummy pill on a short thinking test. The people taking them had Alzheimer's disease or a mild problem with memory and thinking. On a second test, though, no supplement showed a clear benefit.
The researchers pooled 29 studies with about 2,000 participants in total. In each one, chance decided who got a supplement and who got a dummy pill. A special method also allowed indirect comparisons between the different products. On the test called MMSE, winners included extracts of the plant Cosmos caudatus, spirulina algae and B vitamins. So did phosphatidylserine, a building block of cell walls, at 100 milligrams. Probiotics, meaning live bacteria, combined with selenium showed the largest gap: 1.7 points on average.
So the benefit depended heavily on how thinking was measured. On the second test, the ADAS-Cog scale, no group improved clearly. The authors say this shows how much the choice of test matters. These scores cannot tell whether any supplement slows the course of Alzheimer's disease.
Disclaimer: Research summaries are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making changes to your health routine.