Investigating the Efficacy of Ergothioneine to Delay Cognitive Decline (Pilot)
Investigating the Efficacy of Ergothioneine to Delay Cognitive Decline (Pilot)
NCT ID: NCT03641404 Phase: PHASE1 Status: COMPLETED Enrollment: 19 Completion: 2023-12-31
Conditions
Mild Cognitive Impairment
Interventions
L-ergothioneine, Placebo
Summary
With the growing burden of dementia (including Alzheimer's disease), and the lack of efficacious therapies, there is an urgent need to identify new therapeutics.
Ergothioneine (ET) is a naturally occurring thiol derivative of histidine, obtained solely through diet and is able to accumulate in the body and brain, through the action of a specific transporter, OCTN1. In addition to a wide variety of in vitro and in vivo (animal) studies demonstrating the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory properties of ET, several studies have demonstrated the neuroprotective potential of ET in various cell and animal models.
Based on the ability of ET to counteract the underlying pathology of AD dementia, it is hypothesize that ET supplementation may prevent cognitive decline, especially in individuals at risk of cognitive impairment. This will be assessed using a randomized, double blinded, placebo-controlled, intervention study to test the ability of ET to delay or reverse cognitive impairment in elderly individuals with mild cognitive impairment.
Primary Outcome
Demonstrating uptake of ergothioneine following dietary supplementation