http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/early/2014/12/16/ajcn.114.092189.abstract
- Daniela Mastroiacovo,
- Catherine Kwik-Uribe,
- Davide Grassi,
- Stefano Necozione,
- Angelo Raffaele,
- Luana Pistacchio,
- Roberta Righetti,
- Raffaella Bocale,
- Maria Carmela Lechiara,
- Carmine Marini,
- Claudio Ferri, and
- Giovambattista Desideri
+ Author Affiliations
Abstract
Background: Recent evidence has indicated that flavanol consumption may have many health benefits in humans, including improved cognitive
activities.
Objective: The aim was to evaluate the effect of flavanol consumption on cognitive performance in cognitively intact elderly subjects.
Design: This was a
double-blind, controlled, parallel-arm study conducted in 90 elderly
individuals without clinical evidence of
cognitive dysfunction who were randomly assigned to
consume daily for 8 wk a drink containing 993 mg [high flavanol (HF)],
520 mg [intermediate flavanol (IF)], or 48 mg [low
flavanol (LF)] cocoa flavanols (CFs). Cognitive function was assessed at
baseline and after 8 wk by using the Mini-Mental
State Examination (MMSE), the Trail Making Test (TMT) A and B, and the
Verbal
Fluency Test (VFT).
Results: The changes in
MMSE score in response to the 3 different treatments were not different.
In contrast, there was a positive
impact of the intervention on specific aspects of
cognitive function. Mean changes (±SEs) in the time required to complete
the TMT A and B after consumption of the HF (−8.6 ±
0.4 and −16.5 ± 0.8 s, respectively) and IF (−6.7 ± 0.5 and −14.2 ± 0.5
s, respectively) drinks significantly (P
< 0.0001) differed from that with the LF drinks (−0.8 ± 1.6 and −1.1 ±
0.7 s, respectively). Similarly, VFT scores significantly
improved among all treatment groups, but the
magnitude of improvement in the VFT score was significantly (P < 0.0001) greater in the HF group (7.7 ± 1.1 words/60 s) in comparison to the IF (3.6 ± 1.2 words/60 s) and LF (1.3 ± 0.5
words/60 s) groups. Significantly different improvements in insulin resistance (P < 0.0001), blood pressure (P < 0.0001), and lipid peroxidation (P = 0.001) were also observed for the HF and IF groups in comparison with the LF group. Changes in insulin resistance explained
∼17% of changes in composite z score (partial r2 = 0.1703, P < 0.0001).
Conclusions: This dietary
intervention study provides evidence that regular CF consumption can
reduce some measures of age-related cognitive
dysfunction, possibly through an improvement in
insulin sensitivity. These data suggest that the habitual intake of
flavanols
can support healthy cognitive function with age.
This trial was registered at www.controlled-trials.com as ISRCTN68970511.
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