New Drug Shows Promise in Improving Memory and Thinking in People with Mild Cognitive Impairment
Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Feb 18, 2025 2 days, 14 hours, 39 minutes ago
Medical News: Understanding Mild Cognitive Impairment and the Need for Better Treatments
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a condition where people experience noticeable memory and thinking problems that go beyond normal aging but are not severe enough to be classified as dementia. It is a stage where intervention could potentially slow or even stop further cognitive decline. Researchers have been exploring various treatments to improve brain function in people with MCI, and one promising drug that has emerged from recent studies is DL-3-n-butylphthalide (NBP).
New Drug Shows Promise in Improving Memory and Thinking in People with Mild Cognitive Impairment
This
Medical News report highlights a large clinical study conducted by researchers from multiple institutions, including Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University, the First Hospital of Jilin University, Tianjin Huanhu Hospital, and several others across China. Their goal was to determine whether NBP, a drug originally used to treat stroke, could help people with MCI regain or maintain cognitive abilities over time.
A Closer Look at the Study
The clinical trial was a well-designed, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, meaning neither the participants nor the researchers knew who was receiving the actual drug and who was receiving a placebo. The study was conducted across 25 hospitals in China and included 270 participants aged 50 to 85 years who had been diagnosed with MCI based on strict guidelines.
Participants were randomly divided into two groups: one group received NBP in the form of soft capsules (200 mg, three times a day), while the other group received a placebo. The treatment lasted for 12 months, and the main measure of effectiveness was the change in cognitive function scores, particularly the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale (ADAS-Cog12), which evaluates memory, language, and other mental skills. The lower the score, the better the cognitive function.
Encouraging Results for NBP Therapy
At the beginning of the study, both the NBP and placebo groups had an average ADAS-Cog12 score of about 12. By the end of 12 months, those who received NBP showed a significant improvement with an average decrease of 1.30 points in their ADAS-Cog12 scores, while those in the placebo group had an increase of 0.73 points. This means that people taking NBP experienced noticeable cognitive benefits compared to those who did not.
Other improvements were observed in immediate recall abilities, with those in the NBP group showing a 1.53-point improvement compared to the placebo group. This suggests that NBP has a positive impact on memory function, a critical area affected in MCI.
Is NBP Safe
Safety is always a key concern when evaluating new treatments. In this study, NBP was found to be well tolerated by most participants. The most common side effects included mild liver dysfunction and nausea, but these were rare and generally not severe. Im
portantly, there were no major safety concerns, and no participants experienced life-threatening reactions.
What This Means for the Future of MCI Treatment
The results of this study suggest that NBP could be a promising treatment for people with MCI. The drug’s ability to improve cognitive function and memory in just one year is encouraging, especially considering the lack of effective treatments currently available. While this study was conducted in China, it opens the door for further research worldwide to see if NBP can help a broader population.
The next steps for researchers include conducting larger and longer studies, possibly in different countries, to confirm these findings. If future trials support these results, NBP could become an important option for people at risk of developing dementia, offering hope for millions facing cognitive decline.
Conclusion
This study provides strong evidence that NBP therapy can improve cognitive function in people with MCI. With its good safety profile and noticeable benefits in memory and thinking skills, NBP has the potential to be a valuable treatment option. However, further studies are needed to confirm its long-term effects and determine if it can prevent the progression to dementia.
The findings from this research were published on a preprint server and are currently being peer reviewed.
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5134448
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