The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point
  • About this web log

    This blog ran from 2006 to 2016 and was intended as an objective and dispassionate source of information on the latest CAM research. Since my background is in pharmacy and allopathic medicine, I view all CAM as advancing through the development pipeline to eventually become integrated into mainstream medical practice. Some will succeed while others fail. But all are treated fairly here.

  • About the author

    John Russo, Jr., PharmD, is president of The MedCom Resource, Inc. Previously, he was senior vice president of medical communications at www.Vicus.com, a complementary and alternative medicine website.

  • Common sense considerations

    The material on this weblog is for informational purposes. It is not medical advice or counsel. Be smart, consult your health professional before using CAM.

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    Changes in memory afer drinking blueberry juice

    Blueberries contain anthocyanins, which have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.

    Researchers at Tufts University, in Boston studied the effects of drinking wild blueberry juice in older adults with early memory changes.

    First, the details.

    • 9 older adults with early memory changes drank blueberry juice daily for 12 weeks.
    • The was no placebo group and no attempt to conceal the treatment given.

    And, the results.

    • At 12 weeks, there was significantly improved paired associate learning and word list recall.
      • Paired associate learning involves the pairing of 2 items (usually words) — a stimulus and a response. For example, “calendar” (stimulus) and “shoe” (response) may be paired. The learner is prompted with the stimulus and responds with the appropriate response.
      • Word list recall involves repeating a list of 10 high-frequency, high-imagery words at 1 word every 2 seconds. After the list is presented 3 times, the patient is asked to recall the list of words.
    • There was no significant change in depressive symptoms and blood sugar levels.

    The bottom line?

    This is a preliminary study. So, the results are interesting but there’s a lot more research to be done before blueberry juice can be recommended for routine use.

    According to the authors, the results establish a basis for more comprehensive human studies of the effect of blueberry juice on memory in older people.

    1/26/10 21:36 JR

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