ProHealth.com
November 4, 2002
Research presented at the 2nd International Conference on Mechanisms and Actions of Nutraceuticals (ICMAN) reports NADH improved scores on tests of cognitive ability in patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
Professor V. Demarin M.D., Ph.D. of the Sestre milosrdnice University Hospital in Zagreb, Croatia led an international team of medical researchers in a randomized, double blind, placebo controlled clinical study in which 26 patients with probable Alzheimer's disease were administered 10mg of NADH per day for six months.
Twelve pairs of subjects were matched for age and baseline total score on the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale (MDRS) and Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). Each test assesses the mental status of patients and measures various areas of cognitive function such as orientation, attention, recall, language, reasoning and calculation.
After six months of treatment, subjects treated with NADH showed no evidence of progressive cognitive deterioration and had significantly higher total scores on the MDRS compared to subjects treated with placebo. Analysis of MMSE subscales revealed significantly better performance by NADH subjects on measures of verbal fluency, visual constructional ability and a trend for better performance on a measure of abstract verbal reasoning. There were no differences between groups on measures of attention, memory, or on clinician ratings of dementia severity.
"The results of this study confirm and extend previous findings on the beneficial effect of NADH for cognitive functioning in AD patietns" Demarin said.
According to George D. Birkmayer, M.D., Ph.D., a world-renowned biochemical researcher and author, NADH effectively stimulates the production of the neurotransmitters dopamine, noradrenalin and serotonin in the brain. Neurotransmitters like dopamine transfer information between nerve cells and are essential to brain activities such as memory, decision making, alertness, mood, movement and coordination.
"To date, the actual cause of the disease remains elusive, there is no way to prevent it and there is no cure. This is why we have researched NADH since the coenzyme is known to help the body produce the major neurotransmitter – dopamine which is important for motor skills and cognitive functions. By stimulating neuro activity, the coenzyme helps brain cells perform better and possibly survive longer" Birkmayer said.
The study has been submitted to the journal, Archives of Neurology for peer review.
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