TREATMENT OF AGE-RELATED COGNITIVE DECLINE WITH A HERBAL FORMULATION : A DOUBLE-BLIND STUDY

There is little published research in mainstream Indian journals of the clinical psychotropic properties of herbal medicines. The present study therefore evaluated the psychotropic effects of Memorin (from a pharmaceutical house based at Maharashtra), a herbal formulation. Subjects with DSM-IV age-related cognitive decline were randomized to receive Memorin (n=22) or placebo (n=23) for three months. Before and after treatment, all subjects completed a battery of neuropsychological tests that assessed visual and verbal memory, visuospatial skills, and perceptuomotor functioning Subjects and rater were alike blind to treatment group. The results revealed that in the Memorin group, on most tests significant improvement in performances were observed after treatment; improvement in many of the memory tasks was however confined to males; age did not significantly influence the results. In contrast, in placebo-treated subjects there was little therapeutic gain. It is concluded that irrespective of the subject′s actual age, Memorin may benefit elderly persons, particularly males, who experience age-related cognitive decline.