Hope has been raised for Alzheimer’s patients as scientists today claimed a complex nutritional formula could hold the key to the devastating illness.
Early trials have found a combination of nutrients stop patients with an advanced form of the disease from gradually being robbed of their memory.
Irish researchers tested the combination of lutein, meso-zeaxanthin, zeaxanthin and two separate fish oils for the 18-month-long trial of just 12 patients.
The formula, known by scientists as =[L+MZ+Z+DHA+EPA], already exists in the form of a supplement called Memory Health, which can be bought online.
Critics dismissed the small trial by University Hospital Waterford and the Nutrition Research Centre Ireland and warned the results are ‘highly unlikely to be true’.
The formula =[L+MZ+Z+DHA+EPA] may be the solution to Alzheimer’s disease (stock)
An estimated 850,000 people in the UK and five million in the US have dementia, of which Alzheimer’s is the most common form.
Critics wary
Professor Naveed Sattar, an expert in metabolic medicine at Glasgow University, said that any research into Alzheimer’s is welcomed.
But added: ‘This is too small a trial and lacks a placebo control so that its findings are highly unlikely to true. In fact I would place no reliance on these results.’
Robert Howard, a professor of old age psychiatry at University College London, also dismissed the research.
He said: ‘Sadly, people with dementia and their carers will grasp at any straw and I would worry about naive or deeply cynical attempts to exploit this.
‘This report is sadly not much more than low-grade anecdotal evidence. Certainly, it falls seriously short of the standards of a high-quality trial.’
The Alzheimer’s Society today called for more convincing evidence before claims are made that the supplements could help Alzheimer’s patients.
How was the study carried out?
Researchers gave 12 patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s a daily supplement containing xanthophyll carotenoid, a pigment found in peaches and papayas.
Xanthophyll carotenoid is made up of lutein, meso-zeaxanthin and zeaxanthin, which make up the L, MZ and Z part of the researchers’ formula.
Thirteen patients with moderate-to-severe dementia were given the same nutrients in a different supplement, which also contained fish oils DHA and EPA.
All of the patients were followed for 18 months for the study, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.
A further 15 people without Alzheimer’s were given just xanthophyll carotenoid and were monitored for six months.
What did the study find?
Results suggested that combining xanthophyll carotenoid with fish oils significantly reduces the progression of Alzheimer’s.
Carers of those taking the =[L+MZ+Z+DHA+EPA] supplement reported their patients’ memories, sight and moods improved.
Since the study ended, families and carers of patients on the supplement have asked for continued access to the nutritional supplement.
The researchers, led by Professor John Nolan, claimed the patients are ‘adamant it has had a very positive impact’.
Exciting breakthrough
Dr Alan Howard, a respected Cambridge University academic and founder of The Howard Trust, which funded the study, welcomed the results.
He said: ‘This represents one of the most important medical advancements of the century.
‘Alzheimer’s is the largest public health crisis the UK has ever faced, and drug companies have so far fallen at every hurdle in finding a solution.
‘This study gives us that breakthrough, in a unique natural compound of nutrients.’
Professor Riona Mulcahy, from University Hospital Waterford, hailed the findings as a ‘very exciting development’.