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Cognitive aging

Does a grape and blueberry extract sharpen memory in early decline?

Lopresti AL, Smith SJ, Pouchieu C, et al. · Frontiers in psychology · 2023

Open access · cc by · source: Europe PMC

Six months of a grape-and-blueberry extract did not improve episodic memory in older adults with mild cognitive impairment more than a placebo, although it was linked to faster processing, better location learning and better self-rated executive function.

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Study at a glance

Design
RCT — 24-week, two-arm, parallel-group, randomized, double-blind trial of 300 mg/day Memophenol versus maltodextrin placebo; cognition tested at weeks 0, 12 and 24
N
Planned recruitment of 70 per group; 14 placebo and 9 Memophenol participants withdrew. The exact number randomized is given only in a flow figure not included in the text; analyses were intention-to-treat
Population
Adults aged 60-80 in Australia with self-reported memory and attention difficulties and a telephone MoCA-BV score in the mild cognitive impairment range (13-18), without dementia
Outcome
Primary: COMPASS episodic memory; secondary: working memory, attention accuracy, processing speed, location (visuospatial) learning, BRIEF-A executive function, Cognitive Failures Questionnaire, CASP-19 well-being

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Key findings

Episodic memory improved by a similar amount in both groups (about 4% with the extract and about 3.4% with placebo), so there was no treatment effect on the primary outcome; working memory and attention accuracy also did not differ. Reaction times fell by about 9.5% in the extract group versus 3.3% on placebo, the extract group learned object locations faster at 24 weeks, and self-rated executive function improved more with the extract (about 5.9% versus 1.9%), mainly on the metacognition index. Everyday cognitive failures dropped in both groups, well-being did not change, and the extract was well tolerated.

Methodology

Older adults aged 60 to 80 with mild cognitive impairment were randomly assigned to take either 300 mg a day of a polyphenol-rich grape and wild blueberry extract (Memophenol) or identical-looking placebo capsules for 24 weeks. Neither participants nor investigators knew who got what. Computer-based cognitive tests were given at the start, at 12 weeks and at 24 weeks, with episodic memory as the main outcome, and participants also completed questionnaires on everyday executive function, cognitive failures and well-being.

Limitations

The main memory outcome was null, and the positive results come from secondary and exploratory measures tested without correction for multiple comparisons, so some may be false positives. The processing-speed benefit was driven mostly by one task (picture recognition), and three of the six speed tasks showed no improvement with the extract. Both groups improved on several measures, showing strong practice and placebo effects. MCI was identified only by a telephone screening test, the trial was funded by the extract's manufacturer with company employees as co-authors, and six months is too short to say anything about slowing progression to dementia.

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