Daily Mail

Could daily £3.50 drink slow Alzheimer’s?

- By Ben Spencer

DRINKING a nutritiona­l supplement every day could slow the developmen­t of early Alzheimer’s, researcher­s have controvers­ially claimed.

Scientists say Souvenaid could slow brain shrinkage, delay cognitive decline and even pause the progressio­n of the disease among patients ‘before it is too late’.

Researcher­s behind the trial even say it offers the first evidence of a ‘disease-modifying treatment’ for Alzheimer’s – considered the holy grail of dementia research.

But they were criticised last night by UK experts who pointed out the trial failed to meet its primary aim of slowing memory loss, and did not stop anyone from progressin­g to full-blown Alzheimer’s.

Dr David Reynolds, chief scientific officer of Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: ‘There are signs of something meaningful, but the effect size is small.

‘ The same effect could probably be achieved by eating a healthy diet.’

The trial, published in the Lancet Neurology journal, was funded with a £5.3million European Union grant and involved scientists from Finland, Germany and Sweden.

Souvenaid, a £3.49 drink sold by multinatio­nal firm Nutricia, was tested among 311 patients with ‘prodromal Alzheimer’s’ – those diagnosed with the condition but who have not yet displayed symptoms.

Taking the supplement every day for two years led to a ‘significan­t stabilisat­ion’ of everyday thinking performanc­e and reduced brain shrinkage, said the study authors.

However it was no better than a placebo drink at preventing patients from going on to develop full Alzheimer’s, and it failed to show improvemen­ts in memory tests. Project leader Professor Tobias Hartmann, of Saarland University in Germany, claimed that the blend of fats and vitamins in the drink helps the brain repair itself.

He pointed to a 26 per cent reduction in shrinkage of the hippocampu­s, a part of the brain linked to memory.

‘This is not a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, but for the first time we have a disease modifying treatment,’ he said. ‘We changed the course of the disease because we slowed the impact on the hippocampu­s.’

But Dr Clare Walton of the Alzheimer’s Society said: ‘To claim that it shows disease modificati­on is just not right.’

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom