A systematic review and meta-analysis of the clinical effects of Souvenaid in patients with Alzheimer’s disease

Background and Objectives: We conducted this meta-analysis about the effects of Souvenaid on cognition and functional abilities, with the hypothesis that Souvenaid may have beneficial effects in certain groups and the goal of finding the outcome measures, disease states, and so on, applicable for further clinical trials. Methods and Study Design: We searched Medline, Embase, Web of Science, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Library. Only double-blind randomized controlled trials were included. Outcome measurements were cognition, clinical global change, functional ability, and adverse events. The duration of treatment was not restricted, but trials performed in patients who did not have Alzheimer’s disease (AD) were excluded. Results: This review using meta-analyses of 4 clinical trials showed that Souvenaid had no significant effects on cognition as measured by ADAS-Cog (MD=0.08, 95% CI=−0.71-0.88) and the neuropsychological test battery total scores (MD=0.05, 95% CI=-0,02-0.12), on global clinical function as measured by CDR-SB (MD=-0.21, 95% CI=−0.47-0.06), or on functional ability as measured by ADCS-ADL (MD=0.36, 95% CI=−0.54-1.25). There were no differences in any adverse events (OR=0.84, 95% CI=0.63-1.12) or in serious adverse events (OR=0.95, 95% CI=0.66-1.36). However, Souvenaid may benefit the domains of cognition that are affected by AD (attention, memory, and executive function), and it may have greater potential for benefits earlier rather than later in the disease. Conclusions: The results of current clinical trials do not suggest that Souvenaid has any beneficial effects on cognition, functional ability, or global clinical change. Further studies with outcome measures suitable in patients with early stages of AD will be needed.