Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38908296›Full record

Trial reportThe journal of nutrition, health & aging2024

The impact of six-week dihydrogen-pyrroloquinoline quinone supplementation on mitochondrial biomarkers, brain metabolism, and cognition in elderly individuals with mild cognitive impairment: a randomized controlled trial.

Sonja Baltic, David Nedeljkovic, Nikola Todorovic, Marijana Ranisavljev, Darinka Korovljev, Jelena Cvejic, Jelena Ostojic, Tyler W LeBaron, Judi Timmcke, Valdemar Stajer and 1 more

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in The journal of nutrition, health & aging, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Effects ofFrontiers in nutrition · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Sonja BalticApplied Bioenergetics Lab, Faculty of Sport and PE, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia.
David NedeljkovicApplied Bioenergetics Lab, Faculty of Sport and PE, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia.
Nikola TodorovicApplied Bioenergetics Lab, Faculty of Sport and PE, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia.
Marijana RanisavljevApplied Bioenergetics Lab, Faculty of Sport and PE, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia.
Darinka KorovljevApplied Bioenergetics Lab, Faculty of Sport and PE, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia.
Jelena CvejicApplied Bioenergetics Lab, Faculty of Sport and PE, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia.
Jelena OstojicApplied Bioenergetics Lab, Faculty of Sport and PE, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia.
Tyler W LeBaronMolecular Hydrogen Institute Cedar City, UT, USA; Southern Utah University, Cedar City, UT, USA.
Judi TimmckeCalerieLife, Irvine, CA, USA.
Valdemar StajerApplied Bioenergetics Lab, Faculty of Sport and PE, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia.
Sergej M OstojicApplied Bioenergetics Lab, Faculty of Sport and PE, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia; Department of Nutrition and Public Health, University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway; Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pecs, Pecs, Hungary. Electronic address: sergej.ostojic@uia.no.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesTo assess the impact of medium-term supplementation with dihydrogen and pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) on mitochondrial biomarkers, brain metabolism, and cognition in elderly individuals diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment.

designA parallel-group, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind experimental design, maintaining a 1:1 allocation ratio between the experimental group (receiving the dihydrogen-producing minerals and PQQ) and the control group (receiving the placebo) throughout the trial. SETTING AND

participantsThirty-four elderly individuals with mild cognitive impairment (mean age 71.9 ± 3.8 years; 28 females) voluntarily provided written consent to participate in this trial. Participants were assigned in a double-blind parallel-group design to receive either a dihydrogen-PQQ mixture (Alpha Hope®, CalerieLife, Irvine, CA) or placebo twice daily for a 6-week intervention period.

methodsThe primary endpoint was the change in serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) from baseline to the 6-week follow-up; secondary outcomes included cognitive function indices, specific metabolites in brain tissue, brain oxygenation, and the prevalence and severity of side effects. Interaction effects (time vs. intervention) were evaluated using two-way ANOVA with repeated measures and Friedman's 2-way ANOVA by ranks, for normally distributed data with homogeneous variances and non-homogeneous variances, respectively.

resultsDihydrogen-PQQ resulted in a significant elevation in serum BDNF levels at the six-week follow-up (P = 0.01); conversely, no changes in BDNF levels were observed in the placebo group throughout the study duration (P = 0.27). A non-significant trend in the impact of interventions on BDNF levels was observed (treatment vs. time interaction, P = 0.14), suggesting a tendency for dihydrogen-PQQ to upregulate BDNF levels compared to the placebo. A significant interaction effect was observed for the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive subscale (ADAS-Cog) scores in the orientation domain (P = 0.03), indicating the superiority of dihydrogen-PQQ over placebo in enhancing this cognitive aspect. Cerebral oxygenation saturation exhibited a significant increase following the administration of the dihydrogen-PQQ mixture, from 48.4 ± 7.2% at baseline to 52.8 ± 6.6% at 6-week post-administration (P = 0.005). In addition, brain N-acetyl aspartate levels significantly increased at seven out of thirteen locations post-intervention in participants receiving the mixture (P ≤ 0.05).

conclusionsDespite the limited number of participants included in the study for interpreting clinical parameters, the dihydrogen-PQQ mixture blend shows promise as a potential dietary intervention for enhancing mental orientation and brain metabolism in individuals with age-related mild cognitive decline.

Indexed as

BiomarkersBrainBrain-Derived Neurotrophic FactorCognitionCognitive DysfunctionDietary SupplementsMitochondriaPQQ CofactorAgedDouble-Blind MethodFemaleHumansMaleBiomarkersBrain-Derived Neurotrophic FactorPQQ CofactorBrain metabolismCerebral oxygenationCognitionDihydrogenPyrroloquinoline quinone

Identifiers

PMID38908296
PMCPMC12878601

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

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 Socratic graph.