Visitors to the AIDP booth at Expo West were privy to new data about magnesium's role in supporting cognitive function. A recent randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease found that supplementation with magnesium threonate (as Magtein from AIDP) was effective at improving certain aspects of cognitive function relative to a person’s age, in subjects with cognitive impairment.

The study population included 44 individuals (71% of which were female) ages 50–70 who self-reported memory loss and sleeping disorders. The study evaluated cognitive ability in four areas: executive function (including skills like time management, focusing, organization and more), working memory, attention and episodic memory at baseline, six weeks and 12 weeks.

The group determined that the supplement improved executive function. Specifically, the speed of executive function (as TMT-B) increased an average of 10.3 (+/- 3.8%) over the course of the study. The nutrient’s effects on sleep and anxiety could not be determined.

“The current study also demonstrates the safety and efficacy of magnesium threonate (Magtein), a compound designed to help magnesium to cross the blood brain barrier so that it can increase brain synapse density on restoration of certain cognitive abilities,” explains Guosong Liu, M.D., Ph.D., the study's principle researcher, professor and founding director of the Center for Learning and Memory, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing. “This study highlights the importance of increasing neuronal intracellular magnesium, a key intermediary of synapse density control, for improving cognitive abilities in older adults.”

Published in WholeFoods Magazine May 2016 (Online 3/31/2016)