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Dietary Influence on Serotonin in Cognitive and Emotional Functioning in Women

Phase 2
Completed
Conditions
Healthy
Interventions
Dietary Supplement: lumiVida™
Dietary Supplement: Placebo
Registration Number
NCT02172859
Lead Sponsor
DSM Nutritional Products, Inc.
Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to determine whether a chronic dose of a tryptophan-rich protein drink (lumiVida™) can improve cognitive function, emotional processing and sleep in middle-aged women. In addition, also genetic predictors of susceptibility to an increase of Trp levels will be investigated.

lumiVida™ is considered a dietary supplement, and therefore it is not an approved drug by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It is regulated like a food. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not strictly regulate herbs and dietary supplements. The investigators do not claim that this supplement is meant to treat any ailment

Detailed Description

The treatment conditions are either placebo or lumiVida™ (N=30 per group) 0.5 g twice a day (total 1 g/ day). The first testing took place on the screening day (baseline). Subsequently, participants were supplied with supplements for 19 days intervention (sachets which had to be dissolved in 200-ml water). After 19 days, participants were tested again (same tests as on the baseline day). An additional facet was the completion of a 'sleep diary', which asks questions about sleep quality and latency, and bed-time mood, as well as allowing recording of timing of supplement taking.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
Female
Target Recruitment
59
Inclusion Criteria
  • Physically and mentally healthy (defined by not concurrently receiving medical/pharmacological treatment (except mild painkillers), free of gastrointestinal complaints, not in pain, not diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder
  • Female
  • Aged: 45 - 65 years
Exclusion Criteria
  • Having received treatment in the last 12 months for: depression, anxiety, neurological disease including migraine, dementia, epilepsy, Parkinson's.
  • History of any psychiatric or neurological illness in the last 2 years.
  • Current medication targeting the brain (except mild painkillers, e.g. pure paracetamol, ibuprofen), including steroids, e.g. for contraception, Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), drugs for weight control, stimulants (e.g. phenylephrine, ephedrine), antihistamines, and some herbal or nutritional remedies including St. John's Wort, 5-hydroxy-tryptophan, or melatonin (which can affect the serotonin system).
  • Pregnancy
  • Current gastrointestinal complaints
  • Diabetes (Type 1 or 2)
  • Body mass index < 18 or > 35

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
lumiVida™lumiVida™lumiVida™ (2 x 0.5 g sachets to be dissolved in 150ml water/ day): First dose 2h after breakfast and second dose 60-90min before bed-time for 19 days.
PlaceboPlaceboPlacebo (2 x 0.5 g sachets of casein hydrolysate to be dissolved in 150ml water/ day): First dose 2h after breakfast and second dose 60-90min before bed-time for 19 days
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change from baseline in sleep diaries until day 19Day 1 and 2 prior treatment (baseline) and at day 1, 2, 4, 5, 11, 12, 18 and 19 of intake period

Sleep diaries: Questions about sleep quality and latency, bed-time mood and alertness aspects.

Change from baseline in measures of mood (MAPS scale) at day 19Day1 (baseline) and day 19

Computer-based series of 9-point ratings scales to measure mood

Change from baseline in "Simple Reaction Time (SRT)" at day 19Day 1 (baseline) and day 19

Measurement of reaction time and sustained attention

Change from baseline in the "Rotary Pursuit Task" at day 19Day 1 (baseline) and day 19

Measurement of psychomotor coordination and motor learning

Change from baseline in "Rapid Visual Information Processing task (RVIP)" at day 19Day 1 (baseline) and at day 19

Assessment of sustained attention and working memory

Change from baseline in "Affective Go/No-Go" at day 19Day 1 (baseline) and day 19

Assessment of information processing biases for positive and negative stimuli

Change from baseline in "Emotion Recognition Task" at day 19Day 1 (baseline) and day 19

Assessment of relatively enhanced recognition of positive emotional facial expressions on "morphed" photographs

Change from baseline in "Match To Sample Visual search (MTS)" at day 19Day 1 (baseline) and day 19

Measurement of visual attention, and speed and accuracy of responding

Change from baseline in "Driving Hazard Perception Test" at day 19Day 1 (baseline) and day 19

Measurement of participant's ability to perceive accurately and react to potential hazards whilst driving: this will be measured by computer software that displays a video recording from the driver's perspective through the windscreen of a moving car.

Change from baseline in "Verbal Recognition Memory test (VRM)" at day 19Day 1 (baseline) and day 19

Recognition of words out of a list of words they have seen before

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Genetic evaluation of genotypes of the serotonin transporter protein (5HTTP)Baseline

Buccal (cheek) cell assays for DNA extraction for 5HTTP polymorphism analysis

Change from baseline in plasma TRP/LNAA ratio at day 19Day 1 (baseline) and day 19

Measurement of L-tryptophan (TRP) and large neutral amino acids (LNAA) amino acids in blood samples (plasma)

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

School of Human & Life Sciences

🇬🇧

London, United Kingdom

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