Fort Lauderdale, FL-based Life Extension Foundation provided product support for a study in conjunction with the IMIM-Hospital del Mar Research Institute, Barcelona, Spain, which found green tea flavonol, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) provided cognitive benefits in Down syndrome patients.
 
The resultant publication entitled, “Epigallocatechin-3-gallate, a DYRK1A inhibitor, rescues cognitive deficits in Down syndrome mouse models and in humans” was published in the journal Molecular Nutrition & Food Research.
 
This clinical trial assessed if EGCG could rescue the deficits in cognition in adult mice with Down syndrome and in a pilot study involving human subjects with Down syndrome. The study aimed to investigate the potential benefits of normalizing the activity of the kinase, DYRK1A, which is overexpressed in Down syndrome. The mice were administered the EGCG provided by Life Extension for one month while the human participants were dispensed either the EGCG provided by Life Extension or placebo for three months followed by a 3-month follow-up after treatment discontinuation. 
 
Positive effects on learning and memory deficits in both the mouse models and human participants were observed with the use of EGCG through normalization of DYRK1A kinase activity. In the pilot human clinical trial, significant positive effects on episodic memory and working memory were observed after three months of treatment. Improvement was also observed in visual memory recognition when compared to placebo with positive trending for psychomotor speed and social functioning. It was suggested that the beneficial effects on cognition in the young adults with Down syndrome were due to EGCG’s action on the distributed hippocampal-prefrontal functional networks which provide support for memory abilities.       
 
There was also a positive effect on quality of life and social functioning indicators. It was also observed that there was no increase in biomarkers of oxidative stress or alteration of hepatic function markers with an actual reduction of lipid oxidation in EGCG treated subjects.  “These results most assuredly support further research in the use of EGCG for improving the cognitive impairment in young adults with Down syndrome,” says Dr. Steven Hirsh, Life Extension’s Director of Clinical Research.