Souvenaid

Souvenaid is a medical nutrition formulation, presented as a drink, that has been studied for potential use in the dietary management of early Alzheimer's disease. A NPS MedicineWise summary stated (based on three randomized controlled trials) that Souvenaid failed to show a significant effect in decreasing the rate of cognitive decline or delaying progression of Alzheimer's disease, but that there may be a minor improvement in memory in drug naive people in the very early stages of the disease.

Souvenaid was developed by Advanced Medical Nutrition division of Nutricia and contains a patented combination of nutrients, referred to under the trademark Fortasyn Connect.

Composition

The composition of Souvenaid includes:

• Eicosapentaenoic acid, 300 mg
• Docosahexaenoic acid, 1200 mg
• Phospholipids, 106 mg
• Choline, 400 mg
• Uridine monophosphate, 625 mg
• Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol equivalents), 40 mg
• Selenium, 60 µg
• Vitamin B₁₂, 3 µg
• Vitamin B₆, 1 mg
• Folic acid, 400 µg
• Vitamin C, 80 mg

Development of concept

Souvenaid is the result of research by investigators from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and other international groups being conducted since 2002. Much of the research was led by MIT Professor Richard Wurtman. Souvenaid was designed to support synapse formation and function in early Alzheimer's disease.

The concept of Souvenaid is based on the fact that loss of synapses is one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease and that this hallmark correlates best with memory impairment. There is evidence in the scientific literature that individuals with this condition may lack adequate levels of nutrients important for the formation of new synapses in order to compensate for the experienced loss. Souvenaid has been studied in pre-clinical and clinical studies.