A randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled, parallel group, efficacy study of alpha BRAIN® administered orally.

OBJECTIVE: Alpha BRAIN® is a nootropic supplement that purports to enhance cognitive functioning in healthy adults. The goal of this study was to investigate the efficacy of this self-described cognitive enhancing nootropic on cognitive functioning in a group of healthy adults by utilizing a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled design. METHODS: A total of 63-treatment naïve individuals between 18 and 35 years of age completed the randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled trial. All participants completed a 2-week placebo run in before receiving active product, Alpha BRAIN® or new placebo, for 6 weeks. Participants undertook a battery of neuropsychological tests at randomization and at study completion. Primary outcome measures included a battery of neuropsychological tests and measures of sleep. RESULTS: Compared with placebo, Alpha BRAIN® significantly improved on tasks of delayed verbal recall and executive functioning. Results also indicated significant time-by-group interaction in delayed verbal recall for the Alpha BRAIN® group. CONCLUSIONS: The use of Alpha BRAIN® for 6 weeks significantly improved recent verbal memory when compared with controls, in a group of healthy adults. While the outcome of the study is encouraging, this is the first randomized controlled trial of Alpha BRAIN®, and the results merit further study.

Early Stages of Alzheimer's Disease: Evolving the Care Team for Optimal Patient Management.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive, neurodegenerative disease that creates complex challenges and a significant burden for patients and caregivers. Although underlying pathological changes due to AD may be detected in research studies decades prior to symptom onset, many patients in the early stages of AD remain undiagnosed in clinical practice. Increasing evidence points to the importance of an early and accurate AD diagnosis to optimize outcomes for patients and their families, yet many barriers remain along the diagnostic journey. Through a series of international working group meetings, a diverse group of experts contributed their perspectives to create a blueprint for a patient-centered diagnostic journey for individuals in the early stages of AD and an evolving, transdisciplinary care team. Here, we discuss key learnings, implications, and recommendations.

The imagination inflation effect in healthy older adults and patients with mild Alzheimer's disease.

OBJECTIVE: The imagination inflation effect is a type of memory distortion defined as an increased tendency to falsely remember that an item has been seen, or an action has been performed, when it has only been imagined. For patients with very mild Alzheimer's disease (AD), susceptibility to the imagination inflation effect could have significant functional consequences in daily life. METHOD: We assessed whether patients with very mild AD were more or less susceptible to the imagination inflation effect when compared with healthy older adults. In the first session, participants were read an action statement such as "fill the pillbox" and engaged in 1 of 3 activities: listened to the statement being read, performed the action, or imagined performing the action. During the second session, participants imagined action statements from the first session, as well as new action statements. During the recognition test, participants were asked to determine whether action statements were or were not performed during the first session. RESULTS: We found that imagining performing actions increased the tendency of patients with very mild AD to falsely recall the action as having been performed to an extent similar to that of healthy older adults. CONCLUSION: We concluded that, similar to healthy older adults, patients with very mild AD were susceptible to the imagination inflation effect, which we attributed to difficulties with source monitoring and reliance on familiarity.