Mild Cognitive Impairment with a High Risk of Progression to Alzheimers Disease Dementia (MCI-HR-AD): Effect of Souvenaid Treatment on Cognition and 18F-FDG PET Scans

Abstract

Previous studies have shown that Souvenaid (medical food) can have benefits on memory, cognition, and function in early Alzheimers disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Objective: Demonstrate that Souvenaid could improve or maintain cognition and has an effect on neurodegeneration biomarkers. Methods: This cohort study was carried out from June 2015 through December 2016 in the Neurology Department, Infanta Cristina Hospital, Madrid, Spain. MCI-HR-AD were recruited using Petersen criteria, neuropsychology (NPS), and 18F-FDG PET scans to confirm the high risk of progression to dementia with one year of follow-up. Age, sex, vascular risk factors (VRF), and NPS values (Barcelona brief version) were analyzed. 18F-FDG PET scans were analyzed as a visual procedure. The study was approved by the Research Committee of ICH. Statistical analysis was made with SPSS 22.0 version. Results: Subjects included 43 MCI patients (58.5% women; mean age 69.787.89): 17 receiving Souvenaid treatment (ST), 24 receiving no treatment (WT) and 2 who withdrew. No differences were seen in VRF, only hypercholesterolemia, and were less prevalent in the ST group (p = 0.002). The rate of progression to dementiawas 48.8% (no differences between groups, p = 0.654). A second round of 18F-FDG PET scans showed a significance worsening of glucose metabolism inWT(p = 0.001) versus ST, in which it was low (p = 0.050). For NPS testing, there was a significant worsening in memory performance in the WT group (p = 0.011) and a stabilization in ST (p = 0.083), as well as in executive functions and attention (worsening in WT, p = 0.014). For the Subjective Changing Scale (SCS), caregivers indicated a stabilization/improvement in ST (p = 0.017).