Novel herbal extract may be potential treatment for mild cognitive impairment

A recent study has shown promising results for the use of SaiLuoTong (SLT) in enhancing cognitive function among individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). This study was published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia by Genevieve Z. Steiner-Lim and colleagues.

The study focused on evaluating the effectiveness and safety of SLT in this context. In this research, participants consisted of community-dwelling individuals aged 60 years or older who had been diagnosed with MCI. They were randomly assigned to receive either 180 mg/day of SLT or a placebo for a duration of 12 weeks.

The findings of the study revealed significant improvements in cognitive performance among those who received SLT. Specifically, after the 12-week intervention, participants who took SLT demonstrated substantial enhancements in various cognitive domains. The improvements included:

• Logical Memory Delayed Recall: The SLT group showed a noteworthy between-group difference with a score increase of 1.40.
  
• Executive Function: The Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System Trail Making Test Condition 4 switching and contrast scaled scores also improved significantly, with increases of 1.42 and 1.56, respectively.
  
• Verbal Memory: The Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test delayed recall scores increased by 1.37.
  
• Functional Abilities: The Functional Activities Questionnaire scores saw a notable increase of 1.21.
  

These findings highlight that SLT was well tolerated by the participants, and its potential benefits extended to memory retrieval and executive function in individuals with MCI. Importantly, the improvements persisted even after controlling for baseline scores.

In summary, this study suggests that SLT may hold promise as a supportive intervention for individuals with MCI, particularly in terms of memory and executive function. Further research and exploration are warranted to better understand the full extent of SLT's cognitive-enhancing effects.

Reference:

Steiner-Lim, G. Z., Bensoussan, A., Andrews-Marney, E. R., Al-Dabbas, M. A., Cave, A. E., Chiu, C. L., Christofides, K., De Blasio, F. M., Dewsbury, L. S., Fagan, N. L., Fogarty, J. S., Hattom, L. C., Hohenberg, M. I., Jafar, D., Karamacoska, D., Lim, C. K., Liu, J., Metri, N.-J., Oxenham, D. V., … Chang, D. H. A randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled, parallel‐group 12‐week pilot phase II trial of SaiLuoTong (SLT) for cognitive function in older adults with mild cognitive impairment. Alzheimer’s & Dementia,2023;9(4). https://doi.org/10.1002/trc2.12420