Trial reportAlzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association2021
A ketogenic drink improves cognition in mild cognitive impairment: Results of a 6-month RCT.
Trial report in Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 4 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 114 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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.
Ketogenic Diet Interventions in Parkinson's Disease: Safeguarding the Gut Microbiome
Impacts of Psychosis and Antipsychotics on Cerebral Energy Metabolism: the ATP Project (Antipsychotic-TEP-Psychosis)
Santé, Imagerie et Cognition à Travers la Transition ménopausique
Exogenous Ketone Ester Supplementation in ICU Delirium (KETONES ICU)
Who cites it
114 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 169 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- The effect of exogenous ketone bodies on cognition across health and disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- APOE ε4 and Dietary Patterns in Relation to Cognitive Function: An Umbrella Review of Systematic Reviews.Nutrition reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Effect of home-based lifestyle interventions on cognition in older adults with mild cognitive impairment: a systematic review.BMC geriatrics · 2024Pooled it
- The impact of physical exercise on neuroinflammation mechanism in Alzheimer's disease.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2024Pooled it
- A systematic review and meta-regression of exogenous ketone infusion rates and resulting ketosis-A tool for clinicians and researchers.Frontiers in physiology · 2023Pooled it
- Ketogenic interventions in mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease: A systematic review and critical appraisal.Frontiers in neurology · 2023Pooled it
- Exploratory functional and quality of life outcomes with daily consumption of the ketone ester bis-octanoyl (R)-1,3-butanediol in healthy older adults: a randomized, parallel arm, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.The Journal of frailty & aging · 2025Trial
- Daily consumption of ketone ester, bis-octanoyl (R)-1,3-butanediol, is safe and tolerable in healthy older adults in a randomized, parallel arm, double-blind, placebo-controlled, pilot study.The journal of nutrition, health & aging · 2024Trial
- Impact of medium-chain triglycerides on gait performance and brain metabolic network in healthy older adults: a double-blind, randomized controlled study.GeroScience · 2022Trial
- Tolerability and Safety of a Novel Ketogenic Ester, Bis-Hexanoyl (R)-1,3-Butanediol: A Randomized Controlled Trial in Healthy Adults.Nutrients · 2021Trial
- A ketogenic drink improves cognition in mild cognitive impairment: Results of a 6-month RCT.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2021Trial
- A Randomized Open-Label, Observational Study of the Novel Ketone Ester, Bis Octanoyl (R)-1,3-Butanediol, and Its Acute Effect on ß-Hydroxybutyrate and Glucose Concentrations in Healthy Older Adults.Journal of nutrition in gerontology and geriatricsTrial
- Computational Modeling of Neurotransmitter Cycling Predicts Human Brain Glutamate and GABA Dynamics in Response to Acute Administration of Exogenous Ketones.Neurochemical research · 2026Article
- Ketogenic Dietary Therapies and β-Hydroxybutyrate as Modulators of Mitochondrial Function: From Molecular Mechanisms to Clinical Translation.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Ketone ester supplementation in aged mice produces sex-specific cognitive and metabolic effects.GeroScience · 2026Article
- The Role of Lipid Molecular Structure in Food Technology and Health.Molecular nutrition & food research · 2026Review
- Histone modification dynamics in brain aging: unlocking therapeutic potential.Cell death & disease · 2026Review
- Ketogenic Diet and Brain Health: Cerebrovascular Mechanisms, Neuroprotection, and Translational Implications.Nutrients · 2026Review
54 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
13 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionCounteracting impaired brain glucose metabolism with ketones may improve cognition in mild cognitive impairment (MCI).
methodsCognition, plasma ketone response, and metabolic profile were assessed before and 6 months after supplementation with a ketogenic drink containing medium chain triglyceride (ketogenic medium chain triglyceride [kMCT]; 15 g twice/day; n = 39) or placebo (n = 44).
resultsFree and cued recall (Trial 1; P = .047), verbal fluency (categories; P = .024), Boston Naming Test (total correct answers; P = .033), and the Trail-Making Test (total errors; P = .017) improved significantly in the kMCT group compared to placebo (analysis of covariance; pre-intervention score, sex, age, education, and apolipoprotein E4 as covariates). Some cognitive outcomes also correlated positively with plasma ketones. Plasma metabolic profile and ketone response were unchanged.
conclusionsThis kMCT drink improved cognitive outcomes in MCI, at least in part by increasing blood ketone level. These data support further assessment of MCI progression to Alzheimer's disease.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.