Abstract
Functional changes in the brain during aging can alter learning and memory, gait, and balance - in some cases leading to early cognitive decline, disability, or injurious falls among older adults. Dietary interventions with strawberry (SB) have been associated with improvements in neuronal, psychomotor, and cognitive function in rodent models of aging. We hypothesized that dietary supplementation with SB would improve mobility and cognition among older adults. In this study, 22 men and 15 women, between the ages of 60 and 75 years, were recruited into a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in which they consumed either freeze-dried SB (24g/d, equivalent to 2 cups of fresh SB) or a SB placebo for 90 days. Participants completed a battery of balance, gait, and cognitive tests at baseline and again at 45 and 90 days of intervention. Significant supplement group by study visit interactions were observed on tests of learning and memory. Participants in the SB group showed significantly shorter latencies in a virtual spatial navigation task (p = 0.020, ηp2 = 0.106), and increased word recognition in the California Verbal Learning test (p = 0.014, ηp2 = 0.159), across study visits, relative to controls. However, no improvement in gait or balance was observed. These findings show that the addition of SB to the diets of healthy, older adults can improve some aspects of cognition, but not gait or balance, although more studies with a larger sample size and longer follow-up are needed to confirm this finding.
Corrigendum: Nutritional Supplementation With Physical Activity Improves Muscle Composition in Mobility-Limited Older Adults, The VIVE2 Study: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial
