Medium Chain Triglycerides induce mild ketosis and may improve cognition in Alzheimer’s disease. A systematic review and meta-analysis of human studies

Author links open overlay panelKonstantinos I.Avgerinos^aJosephine M.Egan^aMark P.Mattson^bDimitriosKapogiannis^a

Highlights

Meta-analysis of RCTs showed that administration of oral medium chain triglycerides induced mild ketosis in AD.

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Meta-analysis of RCTs showed that oral medium chain triglycerides improved performance on a combined cognitive measure in AD.

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Risk of bias of existing studies necessitates future clinical trials on the effects of medium chain triglycerides in AD.

Abstract

Introduction/aim

The brain in Alzheimer’s disease shows glucose hypometabolism but may utilize ketones for energy production. Ketone levels can potentially be boosted through oral intake of Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCTs). The aim of this meta-analysis is to investigate the effect of MCTs on peripheral ketone levels and cognitive performance in patients with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease.

Methods

Medline, Scopus and Web of Science were searched for literature up to March 1, 2019. Meta-analyses were performed by implementing continuous random-effects models and outcomes were reported as weighted Mean Differences (MDs) or Standardized Mean Differences (SMDs).

Results

Twelve records (422 participants) were included. Meta-analysis of RCTs showed that, compared with placebo, MCTs elevated beta-hydroxybutyrate [MD = 0.355; 95 % CI (0.286, 0.424), I² = 0 %], showed a trend towards cognitive improvement on ADAS-Cog [MD = −0.539; 95% CI (−1.239, −0.161), I² = 0 %], and significantly improved cognition on a combined measure (ADAS-Cog with MMSE) [SMD = −0.289; 95 % CI (−0.551, −0.027), I² = 0 %].

Conclusions

In this meta-analysis, we demonstrated that MCTs can induce mild ketosis and may improve cognition in patients with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease. However, risk of bias of existing studies necessitates future trials.