Blueberry Supplementation Effects on Neuronal and Pathological Biomarkers in Subjects at Risk for Alzheimer's Disease: A Pilot Study.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Uncontrolled, single-arm open-label pilot study (case series design)
PubMed 37637274 · doi:10.14283/jarlife.2023.13
What was done
This was a 12-week, open-label pilot trial examining the effect of blueberry supplementation in 10 participants with mild cognitive impairment (mean age 80.2 ± 5.16 years). Subjects consumed 36 grams per day of lyophilized blueberry powder in a split dose with breakfast and dinner. Venous blood was analyzed at baseline and endpoint using an ultrasensitive SIMOA assay for six biomarkers: amyloid-beta 40 (Aβ40), amyloid-beta 42 (Aβ42), phosphorylated Tau181 (ptau181), neurofilament light (NfL), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF).
What was found
No statistically significant changes (p < 0.05) were observed from baseline to endpoint for any of the six individual biomarker values or for the ratios of Aβ42/Aβ40 and ptau181/Aβ42. The abstract reported no specific numerical values or effect sizes. Supplementation was well tolerated, adverse effects were mild and transient, and all 10 participants completed the study.
Why it matters
This exploratory study is among the first to prospectively evaluate blood-based neurodegenerative biomarkers following blueberry supplementation in mild cognitive impairment, finding no short-term biomarker shifts.
Limits
The sample size was very small (n = 10), and the trial was open-label without a placebo or control group. The 12-week intervention period may have been insufficient to detect structural biomarker alterations, and cognitive or clinical outcomes were not reported in the abstract.
Cited by
- contradicts Green tea extract and blueberry extract have been demonstrated to decrease beta-amyloid plaques.