Antioxidants for Alzheimer disease: a randomized clinical trial with cerebrospinal fluid biomarker measures.

Study answer

What this study found

Coenzyme Q was safe and well tolerated but did not improve cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers or clinical outcomes. The vitamin E plus vitamin C plus alpha-lipoic acid regimen did not change CSF Aβ42, total tau, or phosphorylated tau 181, but it reduced CSF F2-isoprostanes by about 19%, suggesting an antioxidant effect. That biomarker change did not translate into benefit: MMSE declined more with E/C/ALA than with placebo (−2.8 vs −1.0 and −0.9), and ADCS-ADL also declined more (−4.6 vs −2.4 and −2.3). No significant differences in adverse events were reported, but the findings do not support…

Study & population

Randomized clinical trial at 12 centers in the United States enrolling ambulatory adults with probable Alzheimer disease and mild-to-moderate cognitive impairment.

Intervention

This 16-week, multicenter, placebo-controlled trial tested two oral antioxidant regimens in probable Alzheimer disease.

Key limitation

Small active-arm sample sizes and short 16-week follow-up limit power to detect clinical benefit or safety signals.

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Original abstract