METHODS: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial among 35 healthy middle-aged women was performed, and subjects were randomized to receive either 250 mg PM or placebo of 100 mg maltodextrin each were taken twice daily for 6 weeks. Subjects were assessed for neuropsychological test, psychosocial status, and anthropometric at baseline, week 3, and week 6. Biomarkers were also determined at baseline and week 6.
RESULTS: The supplementation of PM showed significant intervention effect on Digit Span test (P<0.05) social functioning domain of 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (P<0.05) among subjects with mood disturbance. While, among subjects with good mood, PM supplementation improved Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI) for IQ verbal (P=0.016) and Full Scale IQ of WASI (P=0.004). There were no adverse effects reported for the supplementation as indicated using biomarkers, including liver function and clinical symptoms.
CONCLUSION: Supplementation of PM is safe to be consumed for 6 weeks, with potential benefits to attention, short-term memory, improved quality of life, and mood, as well as IQ.
OBJECTIVE: Capitalizing on these therapeutic effects, this study investigated for the first time the potential of VCO on memory improvement in vivo.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty male Wistar rats (7-8 weeks old) were randomly assigned to five groups (n = six per group). Treatment groups were administered with 1, 5 and 10 g/kg VCO for 31 days by oral gavages. The cognitive function of treated-rats were assessed using the Morris Water Maze Test. Brains were removed, homogenized and subjected to biochemical analyses of acetylcholine (ACh) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE), antioxidants [superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione reductase (GRx)], lipid peroxidase [malondialdehyde (MDA)] as well as nitric oxide (NO). α-Tocopherol (αT; 150 mg/kg) was also included for comparison purposes.
RESULTS: VCO-fed Wistar rats exhibited significant (p 33%) and NO (≥ 34%). Overall, memory improvement by VCO was comparable to αT.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: VCO has the potential to be used as a memory enhancer, the effect of which was mediated, at least in part, through enhanced cholinergic activity, increased antioxidants level and reduced oxidative stress.
METHODS: This non-interventional study was conducted from August 2016 to April 2017. A total of 138 patients (aged 18-65 years) with an active episode of major depression were recruited from Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Vortioxetine was initiated on the first visit and patients were followed for 3 months. Depression severity was assessed using the PHQ-9 questionnaire (patient assessed) and CGI-S scale (physician assessed); cognitive function was assessed with the PDQ-D questionnaire; work productivity and activity impairment (WPAI) was assessed with the WPAI questionnaire.
RESULTS: At baseline, 89.9% of patients were moderately to severely depressed (PHQ-9 score ≥10). During the 3 month treatment period, mean ± SD PHQ-9 score decreased from 18.7 ± 5.7 to 5.0 ± 5.3, mean ± SD CGI-S score decreased from 4.4 ± 0.7 to 2.2 ± 1.1 and mean ± SD PDQ-D score decreased from 42.1 ± 18.8 to 13.4 ± 13.0. By Month 3, response and remission rates reached 80.8% and 59.0%, respectively. Work productivity loss decreased from 73.6% to 30.5%, while activity impairment decreased from 71.5% to 24.6%. Positive correlations were observed between PHQ-9, PDQ-D, and WPAI work productivity loss and activity impairment. By Month 3, 82.0% of patients were either not depressed or only mildly depressed (PHQ-9 score ≤9).
CONCLUSION: In real-world clinical settings, vortioxetine was effective in reducing depression severity and improving cognitive function and work productivity in SEA patients with major depression.
METHODS: This 12-weeks randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study investigated the effects of a probiotic (Lactobacillus plantarum P8; 10 log CFU daily) on psychological, memory and cognition parameters in one hundred and three (P8 n = 52, placebo n = 51) stressed adults with mean age of 31.7 ± 11.1 years old. All subjects fulfilled the criteria of moderate stress upon diagnosis using the PSS-10 questionnaire.
RESULTS: At the end of study, subjects on P8 showed reduced scores of stress (mean difference 2.94; 95% CI 0.08 to 5.73; P = 0.048), anxiety (mean difference 2.82; 95% CI 0.35 to 5.30; P = 0.031) and total score (mean difference 8.04; 95% CI 0.73 to 15.30; P = 0.041) as compared to placebo after 4-weeks, as assessed by the DASS-42 questionnaire. Although plasma cortisol levels were only marginally different between placebo and P8 (mean difference 3.28 ug/dl; 95% CI -7.09 to 0.52; P = 0.090), pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IFN-γ (mean difference 8.07 pg/ml; 95% CI -11.2 to -4.93; P