Age-Related Memory Decline Could Be Reversed By A Dietary Compound Found In Cocoa

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online
Antioxidant-rich naturally occurring dietary compounds found in cocoa could help reverse age-related memory decline in otherwise healthy older adults, claims research led by Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) and published Sunday in the journal Nature Neuroscience.
In research supported by Mars Inc., a global food manufacturer known largely for its chocolate and candy products, senior author Dr. Scott A. Small and colleagues from several other US universities recruited 37 healthy volunteers between the ages of 50 and 69. Each study participant randomly received a diet that was either high in dietary cocoa flavanols (900mg per day) or a low-flavanol diet (10mg) for three months.
Brain imaging and memory tests were administered to each subject both before and after the study, the researchers said. The brain imaging measured blood volume in a part of the hippocampal formation known as the dentate gyrus, a measure of metabolism, and the memory test involved a 20-minute session of pattern-recognition exercises designed to evaluate the type of memory controlled by this particular brain structure.
[ Watch the Video: Dietary Flavanols Reverse Age-Related Memory Decline ]
According to Rosa Silverman of The Telegraph, “those who had consumed a high dose performed much faster than those who received a low dose.” The difference, she explained, is believed to be the result of an increase in blood volume in the dentate gyrus directly attributable to the higher intake of cocoa flavanols. Previous research had linked a decline in function in that region of the brain during old age to gradual memory loss.
“When we imaged our research subjects’ brains, we found noticeable improvements in the function of the dentate gyrus in those who consumed the high-cocoa-flavanol drink,” Dr. Adam M. Brickman, lead author of the study and an associate professor of neuropsychology at Columbia University’s for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain, said in a statement.
Specifically, Dr. Small told New York Times reporter Pam Belluck that the members of the high-flavanol group performed an average of 25 percent better on the memory test than their low-flavanol counterparts. That means their results were about as good as people who were two to three decades younger, the CUMC researcher noted.
“If a participant had the memory of a typical 60-year-old at the beginning of the study, after three months that person on average had the memory of a typical 30- or 40-year-old,” Dr. Small said. However, he also cautioned that their study was small, and that the findings needed to be replicated in a forthcoming larger study planned by his team.
“This well-designed but small study suggests the antioxidants found in cocoa can improve cognitive performance by improving blood flow to a certain region of the brain,” said Dr. Clare Walton, research manager at the Alzheimer’s Society, according to the Daily Mail. “The brain region is known to be affected in ageing, but as yet we don’t know whether these brain changes are involved in dementia.”
Likewise, Dr. Simon Ridley, head of research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said that people should not look at the study findings as a sign to stockpile candy bars, because the supplement used in the study was specially formulated from cocoa beans. In fact, the researchers pointed out that most methods of processing cocoa actually remove many of the flavanols found in the cocoa plant itself – they must be specially extracted using a proprietary process.
“The precise formulation used in the CUMC study has also been shown to improve cardiovascular health. Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston recently announced an NIH-funded study of 18,000 men and women to see whether flavanols can help prevent heart attacks and strokes,” the university explained. “The researchers point out that the product used in the study is not the same as chocolate, and they caution against an increase in chocolate consumption in an attempt to gain this effect.”
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