Observational studyClinical interventions in aging2016
Benefits of use, and tolerance of, medium-chain triglyceride medical food in the management of Japanese patients with Alzheimer's disease: a prospective, open-label pilot study.
Observational study in Clinical interventions in aging, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
31 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 77 citations in OpenAlex.
- The effect of exogenous ketone bodies on cognition across health and disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- Gastrointestinal issues predominate among side effects of medium-chain triglyceride consumption in humans.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Are ketogenic diets promising for Alzheimer's disease? A translational review.Alzheimer's research & therapy · 2020Pooled it
- Medium Chain Triglycerides induce mild ketosis and may improve cognition in Alzheimer's disease. A systematic review and meta-analysis of human studies.Ageing research reviews · 2020Pooled it
- An fMRI Investigation into the Effects of Ketogenic Medium-Chain Triglycerides on Cognitive Function in Elderly Adults: A Pilot Study.Nutrients · 2021Trial
- Tolerability and Safety of a Novel Ketogenic Ester, Bis-Hexanoyl (R)-1,3-Butanediol: A Randomized Controlled Trial in Healthy Adults.Nutrients · 2021Trial
- Ferroptotic neurodegeneration and diet: a narrative review.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026Review
- The Effect of Exogenous Ketone Bodies on Cognition in Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment, Alzheimer's Disease and in Healthy Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2025Article
- Inflammasomes in Alzheimer's Progression: Nrf2 as a Preventive Target.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Ketone body metabolism and the NLRP3 inflammasome in Alzheimer's disease.Immunological reviews · 2025Review
- Review
- Medium-Chain Triglycerides (MCTs) for the Symptomatic Treatment of Dementia-Related Diseases: A Systematic Review.Journal of nutrition and metabolism · 2024Review
- A Potential Role for the Ketogenic Diet in Alzheimer's Disease Treatment: Exploring Pre-Clinical and Clinical Evidence.Metabolites · 2023Review
- Short- and long-term cognitive and metabolic effects of medium-chain triglyceride supplementation in rats.Heliyon · 2023Article
- Refueling the post COVID-19 brain: potential role of ketogenic medium chain triglyceride supplementation: an hypothesis.Frontiers in nutrition · 2023Article
- Effects of Ketogenic Diet on Neuroinflammation in Neurodegenerative Diseases.Aging and disease · 2022Article
- Comparison of the Impact of the Mediterranean Diet, Anti-Inflammatory Diet, Seventh-Day Adventist Diet, and Ketogenic Diet Relative to Cognition and Cognitive Decline.Current nutrition reports · 2022Review
- Bibliometric analysis of global research profile on ketogenic diet therapies in neurological diseases: Beneficial diet therapies deserve more attention.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2022Article
- Applications of Medium-Chain Triglycerides in Foods.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesThis is the first clinical trial of this type in Japan, designed to analyze two important aspects of Alzheimer's disease (AD) management using medium-chain triglycerides. Axona was administered for 3 months (40 g of powder containing 20 g of caprylic triglycerides). We used an indurating, four-step dose-titration method (from 10 to 40 g per day) for 7 days before the trial, and examined the tolerance and adverse effects of this intervention. We also investigated its effect on cognitive function in mild-to-moderate AD patients. PATIENTS AND
methodsThis was a clinical intervention in 22 Japanese patients with sporadic AD at a mild-to-moderate stage (ten females, 12 males), mean age (± standard deviation) 63.9 (±8.5) years, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score, 10-25, seven patients were ApoE4-positive. During Axona administration, we examined changes in cognitive function by obtaining MMSE and AD assessment-scale scores. Intolerance and serum ketone concentrations were also examined.
resultsThe tolerance of Axona was good, without severe gastrointestinal adverse effects. Axona did not improve cognitive function in our sample of AD patients, even in those patients without the ApoE4 allele. However, some ApoE4-negative patients with baseline MMSE score ≥14 showed improvement in their cognitive functions.
conclusionThe modified dose-titration method, starting with a low dose of Axona, decreased gastrointestinal adverse effects in Japanese patients. Axona might be effective for some relatively mildly affected patients with AD (with cognitive function MMSE score of ≥14 and lacking the ApoE4 allele).
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