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| |  Induced Mild Ketosis Can Significantly Improve Cognitive Function in Patients With Alzheimer’s Disease: Presented at ADI By Jenny Powers THESSALONIKI, Greece -- March 16, 2010 -- Ketone bodies were advanced as a therapeutic for patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) based on data that showed significantly improved cognitive function after induction of mild ketosis, according to a study presented here at the 25th Conference of Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI). Glucose metabolism declines early in the course of AD in specific areas of the brain. Ketone bodies are produced by the body during glucose deprivation and metabolised by the brain and, therefore, may provide a therapeutic intervention in AD. Samuel T. Henderson, PhD, Accera Inc., Broomfield, Colorado, presented data on March 11 regarding an oral ketogenic compound, AC-1202, which was tested in patients with mild to moderate AD to examine whether ketosis could improve cognitive performance. AC-1202 was given to 152 patients with mild to moderate AD in 2 clinical studies to examine the cognitive effects of induced ketosis. In a blind, randomised, crossover study, 20 patients received acute administration (single dose) of AC-1202. The other was a 90-day US-based randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study in which patients received chronic administration of AC-1202 . All subjects had a normal diet, and most were taking approved AD medications. Ketosis was induced within 2 hours of AC-1202 administration in patients in both studies. After acute dosing, an analysis of cognitive function showed that non-E4 (apolipoprotein E E4 allele) carriers demonstrated greater improvement than E4 carriers on the AD Assessment Scale cognitive subscale (ADAS-Cog; P = .039). In patients who received chronic dosing, non-E4 carriers demonstrated a significant difference between treatment with AC-1202 and placebo; mean change from baseline in ADAS-Cog score on day 45 was 4.77 points (P = .0005) and on day 90 was 3.36 points (P = .0148). In the dosage-compliant population, non-E4 carriers receiving AC-1202 differed in ADAS-Cog from placebo by 6.26 points on day 45 (P = .0011) and 5.33 points on day 90 (P = .0063). In E4 carriers, the mean change in ADAS-Cog total scores for the 2 treatment groups was essentially identical at all time points, with more patients showing decline rather than improvement at days 45 and 90. The researchers concluded that significant correlations between treatment with serum ketone bodies and cognitive performance were found in both studies. Also, AC-1202 rapidly elevated serum ketone bodies in AD patients, which resulted in significant differences in ADAS-Cog scores compared with the placebo. Responding to an audience question whether diabetic patients had a lower incidence of AD, Dr. Henderson replied that the ketosis induced in these studies was far milder than that seen in run-away glucose metabolism, which has many confounding variables that affect cognitive function. Funding for this study was provided by Accera Inc. [Presentation title: Ketone Bodies as a Therapeutic for Alzheimer’s Disease. Abstract OC026]
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