Saffron for mild cognitive impairment and dementia: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomised clinical trials

AbstractThe literature on repetition priming in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is inconsistent, with some findings supporting spared priming while others do not. Several factors may explain these inconsistencies, including AD severity (e.g., dementia vs. Mild Cognitive Impairment; MCI) and priming paradigm-related characteristics. This systematic review and meta-analysis provides a quantitative summary of repetition priming in AD. We examined the between-group standard mean difference comparing repetition priming in AD dementia or amnestic MCI (aMCI; presumably due to AD) to controls. Thirty-two studies were selected, including 590 individuals with AD dementia, 267 individuals with amnestic MCI, and 703 controls. Our results indicated that both individuals with aMCI and AD dementia perform worse on repetition priming tasks than cognitively older adults. Paradigm-related moderators suggested that the effect size between studies comparing the combined aMCI or AD dementia group to cognitively healthy older adults was the highest for paradigms that required participants to produce, rather than identify, primes during the test phase. Our results further suggested that priming in AD is impaired for both conceptual and perceptual priming tasks. Lastly, while our results suggested that priming in AD is impaired for priming tasks that require deep processing, we were unable to draw firm conclusions about whether priming is less impaired in aMCI or AD dementia for paradigms that require shallow processing.

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P3-097: SHORTENED VERSIONS OF MONTREAL COGNITIVE ASSESSMENT (MOCA) ARE FEASIBLE FOR SCREENING OF MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT AND DEMENTIA: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS OF 33 CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDIES

Alzheimer s & Dementia ◽

10.1016/j.jalz.2019.06.3124 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 15 ◽

pp. P962-P966

Author(s):

Joyce YC. Chan ◽

Kelvin KF. Tsoi ◽

Tak Kit Chan ◽

Adrian Wong ◽

Timothy CY. Kwok ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽

Cognitive Assessment ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Montreal Cognitive Assessment ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Cross Sectional Studies

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Open plate fixation versus nailing for humeral shaft fractures: a meta-analysis and systematic review of randomised clinical trials and observational studies

European Journal of Trauma and Emergency Surgery ◽

10.1007/s00068-021-01728-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Frank Joseph Paulus Beeres ◽

Nicole van Veelen ◽

Roderick Marijn Houwert ◽

Björn Christian Link ◽

Marilyn Heng ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Clinical Trials ◽

Observational Studies ◽

Plate Fixation ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Humeral Shaft ◽

Randomised Clinical Trials ◽

Humeral Shaft Fractures ◽

Shaft Fractures

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Saffron for mild cognitive impairment and dementia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised clinical trials

BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies ◽

10.1186/s12906-020-03102-3 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Zahra Ayati ◽

Guoyan Yang ◽

Mohammad Hossein Ayati ◽

Seyed Ahmad Emami ◽

Dennis Chang

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Clinical Trials ◽

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽

Cognitive Function ◽

Daily Living ◽

Randomised Clinical Trials ◽

Disease Assessment ◽

Significant Difference

Abstract Background Saffron (stigma of Crocus sativus L.) from Iridaceae family is a well-known traditional herbal medicine that has been used for hundreds of years to treat several diseases such as depressive mood, cancer and cardiovascular disorders. Recently, anti-dementia property of saffron has been indicated. However, the effects of saffron for the management of dementia remain controversial. The aim of the present study is to explore the effectiveness and safety of saffron in treating mild cognitive impairment and dementia. Methods An electronic database search of some major English and Chinese databases was conducted until 31st May 2019 to identify relevant randomised clinical trials (RCT). The primary outcome was cognitive function and the secondary outcomes included daily living function, global clinical assessment, quality of life (QoL), psychiatric assessment and safety. Rev-Man 5.3 software was applied to perform the meta-analyses. Results A total of four RCTs were included in this review. The analysis revealed that saffron significantly improves cognitive function measured by the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale-cognitive subscale (ADAS-cog) and Clinical Dementia Rating Scale-Sums of Boxes (CDR-SB), compared to placebo groups. In addition, there was no significant difference between saffron and conventional medicine, as measured by cognitive scales such as ADAS-cog and CDR-SB. Saffron improved daily living function, but the changes were not statistically significant. No serious adverse events were reported in the included studies. Conclusions Saffron may have the potential to improve cognitive function and activities of daily living in patients with Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, due to limited high-quality studies there is insufficient evidence to make any recommendations for clinical use. Further clinical trials on larger sample sizes are warranted to shed more light on its efficacy and safety.

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