Tier 3 — preclinical

The positive effect of spermidine in older adults suffering from dementia: First results of a 3-month trial

Thomas Pekar, Katharina Bruckner, Susanne Pauschenwein-Frantsich, Anna Gschaider, Martina Oppliger, Julia Willesberger, Petra Ungersbäck, Aribert Wendzel, Alexandra Kremer, Walter Flak, Felix Wantke, Reinhart Jarisch

Wiener klinische Wochenschrift 2021 133(9-10):484-491

Bibliography

PubMed: PMID 33211152
PubMed Central: PMC8116233
DOI: 10.1007/s00508-020-01758-y
Funding: Investigator-driven and fully funded by the authors.
Competing interests: Authors declared no competing interests.

Study snapshot

Design	Multicenter double-blind preliminary dietary intervention
Model	Older adults with mild to moderate dementia in six nursing homes
Sample	85
Intervention	Higher dietary spermidine exposure (about 3.3 mg/day) versus lower spermidine exposure (about 1.9 mg/day)
Duration	3 months
Endpoints	MMSE; CERAD cognitive measures; Serum spermidine; Metabolic parameters

What the study showed, in plain terms

This nursing-home study reported greater improvement in selected cognitive measures among participants receiving the higher of two dietary spermidine exposures over three months.

Key findings

The strongest reported signal was an MMSE increase in participants with mild dementia receiving the higher spermidine intake. The work is exploratory and does not establish that isolated spermidine treats dementia.

What this study can and cannot tell us

Small preliminary study, active lower-dose comparator rather than a true zero-spermidine placebo, dietary delivery, multiple cognitive endpoints and limited generalizability. It should not outweigh the larger null SmartAge RCT in cognitively healthy adults with subjective decline.

Editorial review

Reviewed by the Biohack Blueprint research team

Khaled Mahmoud