Omega-3 and Blueberry Supplementation in Age-Related Cognitive Decline

Study Description

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Brief Summary:

The aim of this study is to determine the efficacy of 6 months' dietary supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids and whole freeze dried blueberry powder in improving cognition in older adults. The effects of each of these interventions alone will also be assessed in order to determine whether the combined treatment confers synergistic or additive benefit relative to the effect of each therapy.

Condition or disease	Intervention/treatment	Phase
Age-related Memory Disorders; Mood Disorders	Dietary Supplement: Omega-3 fatty acid; Dietary Supplement: Blueberry powder; Other: Placebo oil; Other: Placebo powder	Not Applicable

Detailed Description:

After meeting inclusion criteria, one hundred-forty men and women, aged 62 to 80 years old, will be enrolled and randomly assigned to one of four groups: 1) omega-3 fatty acid and blueberry powder supplement, 2) omega-3 fatty acid and placebo powder, 3) placebo oil and blueberry powder supplement, or 4) placebo oil and placebo powder. They will participate in a 24-week intervention with major assessments including neuropsychological and functional evaluation at pre-treatment baseline and during the final week of the intervention. In addition, an interim evaluation of neurocognitive function will be conducted at 12 weeks. Subjects will be asked to maintain diet diaries for three periods during the study. Mood will be assessed as a potential covariate of the neurobehavioral outcome measures and data on red blood cell fatty acid content, metabolic parameters, inflammation, and anthropometric factors will be gathered to assess compliance and explore individual differences in response to the intervention and to evaluate potential mechanisms of action.

Study Design

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Study Type :	Interventional (Clinical Trial)
Actual Enrollment :	94 participants
Allocation:	Randomized
Intervention Model:	Parallel Assignment
Masking:	Quadruple (Participant, Care Provider, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Primary Purpose:	Treatment
Official Title:	Omega-3 and Blueberry Supplementation in Age-Related Cognitive Decline
Study Start Date :	January 2010
Actual Primary Completion Date :	January 2016
Actual Study Completion Date :	January 2016

Arms and Interventions

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Arm	Intervention/treatment
Experimental: Omega 3 and Blueberry powder; This group will receive omega-3 fatty acid and blueberry powder supplement for 24 weeks (6 months)	Dietary Supplement: Omega-3 fatty acid; A fixed dose of 2.4 g/day (EPA: 1.6 g, DHA: 0.8 g; 4 capsules/d).; Other Name: OmegaRx capsules Dietary Supplement: Blueberry powder; Whole, freeze-dried blueberry powder made of 50%:50% mixture of Tifblue and Rubel blueberries.
Experimental: Omega-3 and placebo powder; This group will receive omega-3 fatty acid and placebo powder for 24 weeks (6 months)	Dietary Supplement: Omega-3 fatty acid; A fixed dose of 2.4 g/day (EPA: 1.6 g, DHA: 0.8 g; 4 capsules/d).; Other Name: OmegaRx capsules Other: Placebo powder; Placebo powder matched for color, taste, and sugar content as closely as possible and milled similarly to the blueberry powder.
Experimental: Placebo oil and blueberry powder; This group will receive placebo oil and blueberry powder for 24 weeks (6 months).	Dietary Supplement: Blueberry powder; Whole, freeze-dried blueberry powder made of 50%:50% mixture of Tifblue and Rubel blueberries. Other: Placebo oil; Corn oil capsules that are identical in size, shape, and color to omega-3 capsules.
Placebo Comparator: Placebo oil and placebo powder; This group will receive placebo oil and placebo powder for 24 weeks (6 months)	Other: Placebo oil; Corn oil capsules that are identical in size, shape, and color to omega-3 capsules. Other: Placebo powder; Placebo powder matched for color, taste, and sugar content as closely as possible and milled similarly to the blueberry powder.

Outcome Measures

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Primary Outcome Measures :

1. Working Memory and Executive Ability [ Time Frame: 6 months ]

   The following tests will be administered to measure working memory function:

   • Porteus Maze Test
   • Verbal Primary Memory with Interference Test
   • Letter Number Sequencing Task
   • Controlled Oral Word Production Task

Secondary Outcome Measures :

1. Mood Assessment [ Time Frame: 6 months ]

   The following scale will be used to assess mood:

   • Geriatric Depression Scale
   • Geriatric Anxiety Inventory
2. Daily Functioning Assessment [ Time Frame: 6 months ]

   The following scale will be used to measure daily functioning:

   - Older Americans Resources and Services Functional Assessment Questionnaire

3. Long-term memory function [ Time Frame: 6 months ]

   The following assessments will be conducted to measure Long-term memory function:

   • California Verbal Learning Test, Second Edition
   • Visual Nonverbal Recognition Memory Test
   • Verbal Paired Associate Learning Task
   • Spatial Paired Associate Learning Task

Other Outcome Measures:

1. Ancillary Measures [ Time Frame: 6 months ]

   The following measures will be collected:

   • Red blood cell fatty acid composition
   • Inflammatory and metabolic parameters
   • Waist Circumference, Hip Circumference, Height, Body Weight, Blood pressure, Heart rate
   • Urinary anthocyanin studies
   • Diet Diaries

Eligibility Criteria

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Ages Eligible for Study:	62 Years to 80 Years (Adult, Senior)
Sexes Eligible for Study:	All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:	Yes

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

• men and women aged 62 to 80 years and older
• age-associated decline operationalized as Clinical Dementia Rating = 0, Auditory Verbal Learning Test cumulative acquisition score between 1.0 standard deviation below and 1.0 standard deviation above the age-corrected mean or Montreal Cognitive Assessment score greater than 25, and Geriatric Depression Scale score less than 16
• ability to comprehend and comply with the research protocol
• provision of written informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

• established dementia or neurological disorder including but not limited to probable Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, Frontotemporal dementia, multi-infarct dementia, and leukoencephalopathy
• current or past severe psychiatric disorder such as psychosis or major mood disorder requiring hospitalization and/or causing a change in level of occupational or social functioning
• current or past alcohol or drug abuse disorder causing physiological dependence or change in functional capability (nicotine dependence is permitted)
• diagnosis of diabetes or other metabolic disorder or kidney or liver disease
• use of medication that might affect outcome measures or interact with omega 3 fatty acid supplements such as benzodiazepines, aspirin, and serotonin reuptake inhibitors
• hematological coagulation disorder
• allergy to shellfish or seafood; 8) current supplementation with fish oil or consumption of fish more than once per week.

Contacts and Locations

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Locations

United States, Ohio
University of Cincinnati
Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, 45219

Sponsors and Collaborators

University of Cincinnati

Investigators

Principal Investigator:	Robert Krikorian, PhD	University of Cincinnati
Principal Investigator:	Robert McNamara, PhD	University of Cincinnati

More Information

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Study Description Study Design Arms and Interventions Outcome Measures Eligibility Criteria Contacts and Locations More Information

Publications automatically indexed to this study by ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier (NCT Number):

Boespflug EL, McNamara RK, Eliassen JC, Schidler MD, Krikorian R. Fish Oil Supplementation Increases Event-Related Posterior Cingulate Activation in Older Adults with Subjective Memory Impairment. J Nutr Health Aging. 2016 Feb;20(2):161-9. doi: 10.1007/s12603-015-0609-6.

Responsible Party:	Robert Krikorian, Professor, University of Cincinnati
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:	NCT01746303 History of Changes
Other Study ID Numbers:	1R01AG034617-01 ( U.S. NIH Grant/Contract )
First Posted:	December 10, 2012
Last Update Posted:	May 27, 2016
Last Verified:	May 2016

Keywords provided by Robert Krikorian, University of Cincinnati:

Working memory; Long-term memory; Neurocognition; Dietary supplementation; dementia

Additional relevant MeSH terms:

Disease; Mood Disorders; Cognitive Dysfunction; Memory Disorders; Pathologic Processes; Mental Disorders	Cognition Disorders; Neurocognitive Disorders; Neurobehavioral Manifestations; Neurologic Manifestations; Nervous System Diseases; Signs and Symptoms