“We are spending billions of euro on medicines that don’t work in Alzheimer’s disease. We have to use this information now. It is not going to fix this disease but can it help with the symptoms of the disease.” Prof John Nolan, Nutrition Research Centre Ireland.
We are delighted to see Irish media recognising the ground-breaking and significant research being undertaken at Nutrition Research Centre Ireland in Waterford, investigating the benefits of targeted nutrition on cognition and brain health.
Both the Irish Times and the Irish Examiner wrote a feature on the initial announcement of the Re-MIND trial findings. This innovative, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial was undertaken at the Nutrition Research Centre Ireland (NRCI), South East Technological University (SETU).
Since then the Re-MIND clinical trial was peer-reviewed and published in the esteemed Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease and was noted by the editor in chief as the most newsworthy research paper of 2022. The Re-Mind Trial was recognised as providing strong clinical evidence for the key role of nutritional supplementation in the management of Alzheimer’s disease. Prof John Nolan of the Nutrition Research Centre Ireland (NRCI) at South East Technological University (SETU) said the findings are “significant” for the management of the condition.
The goal of the Re-MIND Trial was to explore the effects of carotenoids (plant-based pigments) and omega-3 fatty acid supplementation on the natural progression of the mild-to-moderate stage of Alzheimer’s disease. A slower progression of the disease was measured in the patients taking the active intervention and the trial also demonstrated changes in quality of life, with carers reporting improvements in memory, mood, and the ability to carry out day-to-day activities for the patients on the active intervention compared to placebo.
When asked about the findings in the Irish Times interview, Professor John Nolansaid ,“This is not a silver bullet, but is really important”.
In discussing the prevalence of the disease, Professor Riona Mulcahy explained, “Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia and she said the prevalence of dementia is doubling every 20 years, and it is the fourth most common cause of death in the world”.
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Supplements offer ‘significant’ gains for Alzheimer sufferers
Study findings on disease ‘not a silver bullet, but this is really important’, conference told
The first trial of its kind on the impact of nutritional supplements on people with Alzheimer’s disease has shown significant improvements in patient mood, ability to function and memory, a conference has heard.
Prof John Nolan of the Nutrition Research Centre Ireland (NRCI) at Waterford Institute of Technology said the findings are “significant” for treatment of the condition. Prof Nolan co-led the two-year study mainly in the southeast of Ireland.
“This is not a silver bullet, but this is really important,” he told The Irish Times.
“We are spending billions of euro on medicines that don’t work in Alzheimer’s disease. We have to use this information now. It is not going to fix this disease but can it help with the symptoms of the disease.”
Eighty patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s were recruited three years ago for the first ever placebo-controlled study into the impact of nutritional supplements. The patients were predominantly from in and around Waterford, all were aged 65 years or over and had mild or moderate symptoms of Alzheimer’s.
Of the group, 27 were put on a placebo, while 53 – known as the active group – were given daily supplements of carotenoids, or plant-based pigments, mixed with vitamin E and omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil.
All the nutrients have been shown to be depleted in patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
Prof Nolan said the study found a “massive improvement” in the active nutrients, when measured in the blood and skin of patients in the active group.
“Also, importantly for the patients, we measured functional improvement in relation to quality of life,” he said.
“Basically their mood, their ability to function, their memory – these were the types of improvements we were able to pick up – were significantly better in the active group, compared to the placebo. It was a really good outcome for the experiment.”
Safe nutrients
He said the findings are “absolutely significant” for science and Government to support doctors, carers and patients to get access to these nutrients.
“The whole point of this intervention is the earlier the better. But the fact we can show an improvement even in people with Alzheimer’s disease has to be taken very seriously in the context that this disease has no real successful treatment,” added Prof Nolan.
“These are safe nutrients which have been tested. They are available in plants typically, so they are nature’s way of providing protection throughout our life, but what happens is when we get older we don’t have enough. These are exceptionally important findings.”
Findings of the study – led by Prof Nolan and Dr Rebecca Power of the NRCI and Prof Ríona Mulcahy, consultant physician at University Hospital Waterford – were presented at the 2021 International Brain and Ocular Nutrition Conference.
They have yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Prof Mulcahy said the results add to a body of evidence that targets nutrition and can have a positive impact on symptoms and quality of life for those with Alzheimer’s disease.
“We believe that these results warrant large scale multicentre trials in order to continue this essential research and that this goal should be supported by research funding bodies, philanthropy and Government,” she added.
The Irish Examiner
‘Targeted nutrition’ can improve quality of life for Alzheimer patients, Waterford study finds
“Targeted nutrition” can help improve the quality of life of people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, according to the results of a two-year trial conducted in Waterford.
The research builds on previously published studies that found specific nutrients – such as vitamin E, omega-3 fatty acids, and carotenoids – which are depleted in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, can be improved with nutritional supplementation and are associated with improvements in quality of life.
The trial, titled re-MIND (Memory Intervention with Nutrition for Dementia), was carried out by Professor John Nolan and Dr Rebecca Power of the Nutrition Research Centre Ireland (NRCI) at Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) in collaboration with Professor Ríona Mulcahy, a consultant physician in general and geriatric medicine at University Hospital Waterford.
The goal was to explore the effects of carotenoids (plant-based pigments) and omega-3 fatty acid supplementation on the natural progression of the mild-to-moderate stage of Alzheimer’s disease.
According to the researchers, the trial is the first “placebo-controlled nutritional interventional trial in patients with Alzheimer’s disease to demonstrate significant improvements in antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrients [omega-3 fatty acids and carotenoids] for the active intervention group compared to placebo”.
The trial also demonstrated changes in quality of life, with carers reporting improvements in memory, mood, and day-to-day activities for the patients on the active intervention compared to placebo.
Carotenoids were looked at as previous research has found them to be located in parts of the brain that are to do with memory. Prof Mulcahy said their own work has shown that people with Alzheimer’s have lower carotenoids.
Prof Nolan said understanding more about “targeted nutrition and brain function” will allow for the development of “novel pathways to help reduce the risk of neurodegenerative conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease”.
“Following this trial, it is clear that quality of life can be enhanced for patients with Alzheimer’s disease who are provided with stable and effective doses of these natural nutrients.
The results of the trial add to the “cumulating body of evidence that targeted nutrition can have a positive impact on symptoms and quality of life in Alzheimer’s disease”, added Prof Mulcahy.
“We believe that these results warrant large-scale multi-centre trials in order to continue this essential research and that this goal should be supported by research funding bodies, philanthropy, and Government.”
Prof Mulcahy also highlighted how in 2020, for the first time ever, there were more people aged over 65 than under 65. This brings with it an increase in age-related diseases such as dementia.
Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia and she said the prevalence of dementia is doubling every 20 years, and it is the fourth most common cause of death in the world.
She added the study shows there is “real information” about how nutritional intervention can help Alzheimer’s patients.