Blueberry juice & purple grape juice improve memory in older adults

January, 2010

Two small studies provide the first human evidence that blueberries and Concord grape juice can improve verbal memory in those with mild cognitive impairment.

A number of rodent studies have shown that blueberries can improve aging memory; now for the first time, a human study provides evidence. In the small study, nine older adults (mean age 76) with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) drank the equivalent of 2-2 l/2 cups of a commercially available blueberry juice every day. After three months they showed significantly improved paired associate learning and word list recall. The findings will of course have to be confirmed by larger trials, but they are consistent with other research.

A companion study involving 12 older adults (75-80) with MCI found that those who drank a pure variety of Concord grape juice for 12 weeks also saw their performance progressively improve on tests in which they had to learn lists and remember items placed in a certain order.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-01/acs-fet012010.php http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1234221/Drinking-grape-juice-r...

Reference:

[1168] Krikorian, R., Shidler M. D., Nash T. A., Kalt W., Vinqvist-Tymchuk M. R., Shukitt-Hale B., et al.
(2010). Blueberry supplementation improves memory in older adults.
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 58(7), 3996 - 4000.

[866] Krikorian, R., Nash T. A., Shidler M. D., Shukitt-Hale B., & Joseph J. A.
(2010). Concord grape juice supplementation improves memory function in older adults with mild cognitive impairment.
The British Journal of Nutrition. 103(5), 730 - 734.

seniors

Fruit vegetables

Lifestyle

Related News

Complex link between head trauma and Alzheimer’s

Studies linking head trauma with increased risk and earlier age of onset for Alzheimer's disease have yielded contradictory results.

Over 90% of dementia cases in China are undetected

A survey of 7,072 older adults in six provinces across China, with one rural and one urban community in each province, has identified 359 older adults with dementia and 328 with depression.

Falling in British dementia rate

A survey of 7796 older adults (65+) living in three geographic areas in England has allowed us to compare dementia rates over time, with an identical survey having been taken between 1989 and 1994. The overall prevalence of dementia fell significantly, from 8.3% to 6.5%.

Less cognitive decline in Danish nonagenarians

A large Danish study comparing two groups of nonagenarians born 10 years apart has found that not only were people born in 1915 nearly a third (32%) more likely to reach the age of 95 than those in the 1905 cohort, but members of the group born in 1915 performed significantly better on tests of

Blood test predicts Alzheimer’s risk early

A five-year study involving 525 older adults (70+) found 46 had Alzheimer’s or aMCI and a further 28 went on to develop the conditions.

Plaques tell which MCI patients will progress to Alzheimer’s

A three-year study involving 152 adults aged 50 and older, of whom 52 had been recently diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment and 31 were diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, has found that those with mild or no cognitive impairment who initially had amyloid-beta plaques showed greater cogniti

Variations in eye structure and function seen early in Alzheimer's

More evidence for early changes in the eye in Alzheimer’s disease comes from a study involving both rats and postmortem human retinas.

Blocking inflammation receptor helps Alzheimer's mice

Blocking a receptor involved in inflammation in the brains of mice with severe Alzheimer’s produced marked recovery in blood flow and vascular reactivity, a dramatic reduction in toxic amyloid-beta, and significant improvements in learning and memory.

Brain network decay detected in early Alzheimer's

A multi-year study involving 207 healthy older adults, in which their spinal fluids were repeatedly sampled and their brains repeatedly scanned, has found that disruptions in the default mode network emerges about the same time as chemical markers of Alzheimer’s appear in the spinal fluid (decre

Brain networks disrupted in Alzheimer's disease

An analysis of the anatomical connectivity in the brains of 15 people with Alzheimer's disease, 68 with mild cognitive impairment and 28 healthy older individuals, has found several measures showed disease effects:

Pages