Special Diet Improves Mild Alzheimer’s

"Medical Food"

Giving 125 ml of “medical food” once a day to people with mild Alzheimer’s disease appears to improve memory.  These were the findings of a trial done in the Netherlands and presented at the 2012 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference. 

This was the second large study showing that diet with specialized “medical food” can improve memory.  A medical food is specially formulated liquid diet supplement for people with a particular disease or condition and is given under the supervision of a doctor by prescription.

The improvements continued for 48 weeks.  At the end of 24 weeks those who had been assigned to take a placebo drink were switched to the active treatment.  They also experienced significant memory improvement.

The medical food used in this study, Souvenaid, was developed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston.  Lead researcher, Dr. Philip Scheltens, said that the food “is medical nutrition, and we think it may offer a new approach—a dietary management approach, if you like — for people with very early Alzheimer’s disease.”  He added that it is very safe and well tolerated.  No serious adverse events were reported in the participants who complete the trial.

This article was originally published in Pathways & Partners Newsletter - Issue 27.  To download this issue in PDF format, or past issues, visit our newsletter archives online at www.pathwayshealth.org/publications.