A ketogenic drink has been found to improve cognitive performance in those with mild cognitive impairment

Adapted from A ketogenic drink improves cognition in mild cognitive impairment: Results of a 6 month RCT by Melanie Fortier et al. Alzheimer’s and Dementia. 2021.

Brain energy rescue is being tested to see if it can reduce cognitive decline in patients with mild cognitive impairment. It has previously been discovered that the brain has problems using glucose for fuel even before symptoms develop, but brain ketone use remains constant in both Alzheimers (A) and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). Increasing ketones available to the brain has been shown to improve cognitive symptoms.

A really easy way to increase blood ketone levels is to give a drink containing ketogenic medium chain fatty acids. This has been found to increase brain energy uptake via PET scans. This follow on trial was done to assess whether improvement in cognition after six months occurred.

This study was conducted in Quebec Canada. Very strict entry criteria were applied and the patients were randomised to the ketogenic drink or to a placebo drink. The drinks appeared and tasted identical.

122 participants were enrolled. In total 39 completed the ketogenic arm and 44 the placebo arm. They were well matched regarding age, sex, education, functional ability and cognitive scores, absence of depressive features, blood pressure, blood chemistry and APOE 4 status. ( A genetic variability that greatly increases the chance of developing dementia).

More participants dropped out of the ketogenic group mainly due to gastrointestinal side effects. The drop out rate overall was 32% and 38% in the ketogenic group. None of the side effects were serious.

The results showed that performance on widely used tests of episodic memory, executive function and language improved over 6 months in the ketogenic group compared to the placebo group. Improvement was directly correlated with the plasma level of ketones.

The dose used was 15g of kMCT twice a day.

This seems to be a very reasonable intervention for early cognitive decline particularly since no drugs are approved for MCI and drugs used for Alzheimers do not delay cognitive decline in MCI. It is possible that effects would be enhanced if patients also undertook a ketogenic diet. Further trials are now warranted to see if diagnosis of Alzheimers can be delayed in those suffering from mild cognitive impairment.