Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy published an exploratory randomized controlled trial about how a medical nutrition drink affects brain phospholipid metabolism in mild Alzheimer’s disease.
This article presents the first evidence of the impact of a medical nutritional drink on phospholipid metabolism in the brain in mild Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) patients. Phospholipids are a class of lipids that are essential for neuronal membrane function. Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by dysfunction of neuronal membrane and by reduction of brain phospholipid levels, indicating that phospholipid metabolism is impacted in AD.
Marieke Lansbergen, Senior Clinical Study Researcher at Danone Research & Innovation: “Synaptic dysfunction contributes to cognitive impairment in Alzheimer’s Disease and may be countered by increased intake of nutrients that target brain phospholipid synthesis. Enhancing brain phospholipid synthesis could lead to increased neuronal membrane formation which may lead to better cognitive functioning. There is sufficient preclinical evidence on the role of dietary nutrients in brain phospholipid synthesis and its correlation with synaptic formation and function, but we don’t yet have confirmation from clinical trials.”
The first step towards demonstrating the role of nutrients in neuronal membrane formation in a clinical setting, is to investigate whether orally ingested nutrients reach the brain in patients with AD and affect brain phospholipid metabolism. The manuscript reports the findings of an exploratory randomized controlled trial in 33 patients between 60 and 86 years old with mild Alzheimer’s Disease. Every day patients took a medical nutrition drink containing specific nutrients that are known to be involved in phospholipid metabolism, versus a placebo without these nutrients.
Nutrient levels and phospholipid metabolism in the brain were investigated using Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, an imaging method used to measure metabolites in the brain. The study demonstrated that already at 4 weeks’ of intervention, brain levels of choline were increased and brain phospholipid metabolism was affected in a way that indicated increased synthesis of phospholipids. These results are in line with findings from preclinical studies and contribute to a better understanding of the role of specific nutrients in neuronal membrane formation and function.
The clinical trial was funded by Danone Research & Innovation and performed by and at the Radboud University Medical Centre in Nijmegen, The Netherlands.