AUTHOR=van Straaten Elisabeth C. W. , de Waal Hanneke , Lansbergen Marieke M. , Scheltens Philip , Maestu Fernando , Nowak Rafal , Hillebrand Arjan , Stam Cornelis J. TITLE=Magnetoencephalography for the Detection of Intervention Effects of a Specific Nutrient Combination in Patients with Mild Alzheimer’s Disease: Results from an Exploratory Double-Blind, Randomized, Controlled Study JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neurology VOLUME=7 YEAR=2016 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2016.00161 DOI=10.3389/fneur.2016.00161 ISSN=1664-2295 ABSTRACT=
Synaptic loss is an early pathological finding in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and correlates with memory impairment. Changes in macroscopic brain activity measured with electro- and magnetoencephalography (EEG and MEG) in AD indicate synaptic changes and may therefore serve as markers of intervention effects in clinical trials. EEG peak frequency and functional networks have shown, in addition to improved memory performance, to be sensitive to detect an intervention effect in mild AD patients of the medical food Souvenaid containing the specific nutrient combination Fortasyn® Connect, which is designed to enhance synapse formation and function. Here, we explore the value of MEG, with higher spatial resolution than EEG, in identifying intervention effects of the nutrient combination by comparing MEG spectral measures, functional connectivity, and networks between an intervention and a control group. Quantitative markers describing spectral properties, functional connectivity, and graph theoretical aspects of MEG from the exploratory 24-week, double-blind, randomized, controlled Souvenir II MEG sub-study (NTR1975,