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P2‐363: Influence of diet macronutrients on cognition and the interaction with ApoE ɛ4 genotype
Author(s) -
Hanson Angela,
Baker Laura,
Callaghan Maureen,
Cholerton Brenna,
BayerCarter Jennifer,
Craft Suzanne
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1016/j.jalz.2012.05.1073
Subject(s) - cognition , analysis of variance , medicine , recall , calorie , verbal fluency test , glycemic , endocrinology , psychology , insulin , neuropsychology , psychiatry , cognitive psychology
beagles (98-115 months) were treated with a medical food cocktail containing (1) an extract of turmeric containing 95% curcuminoids; (2) an extract of green tea containing 50% epigallocatechin gallate; (3) N-acetyl cysteine; (4) R-alpha lipoic acid; (5) an extract of black pepper containing 95% piperine. Nine similarly aged dogs served as placebo-treated controls. We used a modified Wisconsin General Test apparatus for behavioral testing of the dogs for 10 or 12 trials/day, 5 days/week, with food rewards. Data acquisition was controlled using dedicated software (DOGMA). After a 1 month wash in, dogs were given a landmark discrimination task to measure spatial attention. Results: For the first 2 months of treatment, we observed a gradual but nonsignificant improvement in attention in treated animals as they progressively solved the problem using increasing landmark distances (0, 5, 18, 14 cm from the center of the correct object to be displaced). After 3 months of treatment, 13 dogs completed a 20-day variable distance version of the task. As compared to placebo-treated animals, dogs receiving the medical food cocktail had significantly lower error scores (t(11)1⁄4 4.3, P1⁄4 0.001) and were more accurate across all distances (F(1,9) 1⁄4 20.7, P 1⁄4 0.001). Blood biochemical measures from treated dogs had reduced aspartate transaminase (AST) (t(15) 1⁄4 3.5, P 1⁄4 0.003) and creatinine phosphokinase (CPK) (t(15) 1⁄4 2.93, P 1⁄4 0.01), indicating no liver or muscle toxicity with consumption of the medical food cocktail. Brain Ab remained unchanged in treated dogs and there appeared to be no change in gliosis. Conclusions: Our results indicate that this medical food cocktail may be beneficial for reducing or preventing symptoms associated with aging and AD.