Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. A new study finds that supplementing with MMFS-01, a magnesium-threonic acid compound, significantly improved cognitive impairment in participating subjects compared to control.
Alzheimer’s Disease affects 5.1 million Americans (1) and is the most significant contributor to the $215 billion annual cost dementia incurs on our healthcare system each year (2). One of the hallmarks of cognitive impairment in conditions like Alzheimer’s Disease is a breakdown in the means of communication between cells in the brain, structures called synapses (3).
As a result, treatments to halt cognitive decline have focused on maintaining synapse structure between brain cells, primarily by trying to increase brain levels of magnesium (4, 5). But because magnesium absorption is very tightly regulated in the intestines and the spinal cord (6, 7), magnesium levels cannot increase to sufficient levels to promote synaptic preservation, making magnesium supplementation by itself unfeasible. But when magnesium is combined with threonic acid, magnesium absorption increases significantly to levels that may help preserve synapses in the brain (8, 9, 10).
Now a new study (11) has found that a compound called MMFS-01, a synaptic density enhancer which contains the magnesium-threonic acid compound, may help maintain cognitive function. The study involved 44 subjects (13 males, 31 females) aged 52 to 61 with cognitive impairment (having a score higher than 24 on the Mini-Mental State Exam). They were given either MMFS-01 (25 milligrams per kilogram of bodyweight per day = 23 subjects) or placebo (21 subjects) for 12 weeks.
After 12 weeks, statistically significant benefits of MMFS-01 supplementation were noted in two cognitive tests:
- A 19.8% increase in the Cognitive Trail Making Test (12) (10.6 to 12.7) compared to a 1.8% increase in the placebo group (11.2 to 11.4, p = 0.047). This test assesses executive function as well as impulsivity, visual search, visual attention, and motor speed (13).
- A significant increase in Overall Cognitive Ability (14) (-0.025 to 0.575) compared to a less significant increase in the placebo group which left the MMFS-01 with more double the score of the placebo group (-0.002 to 0.028, p = 0.001). This score was a combination of several cognitive tests, including the TMT-B test but also working memory capacity (15), face and name recognition (16), and attention capacity (17).
For the researchers, “the current study demonstrated efficacy of MMFS-01, a compound designed to increase brain synapse density, on restoration of cognitive abilities” and that “this study highlights the importance of increasing neuronal intracellular magnesium, a key intermediary of synapse density control, on improving cognitive abilities in older adults.”
Source: Liu, Guosong, et al. “Efficacy and safety of MMFS-01, a synapse density enhancer, for treating cognitive impairment in older adults: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.” Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease 49.4 (2016): 971-990.
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Posted January 27, 2016.
Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Hauppauge, NY. You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at www.PitchingDoc.com.
References:
1. “Prevalence of Alzheimer’s Disease” posted on the National Institute of Aging website
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11. Liu G. Efficacy and Safety of MMFS-01, a Synapse Density Enhancer, for Treating Cognitive Impairment in Older Adults: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial. J Alzheimers Dis. 2015 Oct 27;49(4):971-90. doi: 10.3233/JAD-150538
12. Langbaum JB, Hendrix SB, Ayutyanont N, Chen K, Fleisher AS, Shah RC, Barnes LL, Bennett DA, Tariot PN, Reiman EM (2014) An empirically derived composite cognitive test score with improved power to track and evaluate treatments for preclinical Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimers Dement 10, 666-674
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