The Cognitive Effects of 6- and 12-weeks Administration of a Food Supplement Containing Phosphatidylserine in Healthy Children Aged 8 to 12 Years

The Chronic Cognitive Effects of 6- and 12-weeks Administration of a Food Supplement Containing Phosphatidylserine: A Double Blind, Randomized, Placebo Controlled, Parallel Groups Study in Healthy Children Aged 8 to 12 Years

The purpose of this study is to assess the cognitive effects (attention, learning, and memory) of 6 and 12 weeks administration of a supplement containing phosphatidylserine in comparison to a placebo in healthy children aged 8 to 12 years old. The study will utilize Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) and Computerised Mental Performance Assessment System (COMPASS, Northumbria University) for a broad assessment of cognitive function/learning, and actigraphy to monitor sleep.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Cognitive Change
• Intervention / Treatment: Dietary supplement: Phosphatidylserine; Dietary supplement: Placebo

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 208
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United Kingdom
  • Tyne & Wear
    • Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear, United Kingdom, NE1 8ST
      • Brain, Performance, Nutrition Research Centre, Northumbria University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 4 years to 8 years (Child)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Participants must be in good health as reported by themselves and their parent/guardian.
• Healthy children aged 8 to 12 years and enrolled in school years 4 to 7 at the time of giving consent
• Have been speaking English at school since reception
• Willingness of the children and parents to give their written informed consent, according to GCP and local regulations and being able to participate in all scheduled visits, intervention plans, tests and other trial procedures
• Children with a normal sex and age-related BMI according to the local NHS guidelines (3rd to 90th percentiles)

Exclusion Criteria:

• Relevant allergy or known hypersensitivity to one of the ingredients contained in the investigational drug.
• Are currently taking any illicit, herbal or recreational drugs including alcohol and tobacco.
• Taking any prescribed or OTC medication against chronic or non- chronic illnesses.
• Have used dietary supplements within the last 4 weeks
• Are diagnosed with ADHD, dyslexia or any neurodevelopmental disorder or learning difficulty.
• Suffer from visual (including colour blindness) or hearing impairment (that may impact task performance in the opinion of the PI.
• Have any serious illness, cognitive impairment or medical disorder that may confound with study results or interfere with compliance.
• Have any other active or unstable medical condition, that, in the opinion of the PI, may adversely affect the participant's ability to complete the study
• Are experiencing exceptional social/family stressors.
• Consume more than one portion (>100g) per week of the following dietary sources high in phosphatidylserine: Oily fish such as salmon, mackerel, herring, tuna and eel. Animal internal organs such as liver, kidney, brain and heart. Note: Information on continued adherence to this criteria will be captured within treatment diary. If a child continuously consumes more than one portion per week of PS rich food the sponsor will be informed on a case by case basis. If deemed to be significant, they will be excluded, (but allowed to continue the study to the end (day 84)) and will be replaced.
• Subjects that have followed specific diet, e.g. high protein diet, within 30 days prior to study start
• Serious diet change, e.g. Ketogenic or vegan, within 30 days prior to study start.
• Consumption of > 250 mg/day of caffeine.
• Are unable to complete all of the study assessments
• Are currently participating in other clinical or nutrition intervention studies, or have in the past 8 weeks
• Are non-compliant with regards treatment consumption

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Quadruple

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Placebo Comparator: Placebo; Placebo comparator	Dietary supplement: Placebo; Placebo comparator (2 x chewable gummies/day, matched to shape and color without active ingredient)
Experimental: Phosphatidylserine; 100 mg elemental phosphatidylserine	Dietary supplement: Phosphatidylserine; Phosphatidylserine containing supplement (2 x chewable gummies/day; Total daily dose of 100 mg elemental phosphatidylserine)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
COMPASS global performance measures	Speed of performance, and accuracy of performance measured by Computerised Mental Performance Assessment System (COMPASS, Northumbria University)	Following 12 weeks of intervention
Cognitive domain factor score	Speed of attention, accuracy of attention, speed of memory, accuracy of working memory, and accuracy of episodic memory measured by Computerised Mental Performance Assessment System (COMPASS, Northumbria University)	Following 12 weeks of intervention
Location Learning score	Learning index, displacement score, and delayed recall score, measured by Computerised Mental Performance Assessment System (COMPASS, Northumbria University)	Following 12 weeks of intervention
Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT)	Learning score, Immediate recall, delayed recall, and delayed recognition measured by the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test	Following 12 weeks of intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
COMPASS global performance measures	Speed of performance, and accuracy of performance measured by Computerised Mental Performance Assessment System (COMPASS, Northumbria University)	Following 6 weeks of intervention
Cognitive domain factor score	Speed of attention, accuracy of attention, speed of memory, accuracy of working memory, and accuracy of episodic memory measured by Computerised Mental Performance Assessment System (COMPASS, Northumbria University)	Following 6 weeks of intervention
Location Learning score	Learning index, displacement score, and delayed recall score, measured by Computerised Mental Performance Assessment System (COMPASS, Northumbria University)	Following 6 weeks of intervention
Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT)	Learning score, Immediate recall, delayed recall, and delayed recognition measured by the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test	Following 6 weeks of intervention
Individual cognitive task score	Individual tasks include the following: immediate word recall, simple reaction time, choice reaction time, 4 choice reaction time, arrows flankers, digit vigilance, rapid visual information processing, Stroop, Corsi blocks, numeric working memory, 2-back, delayed word recall, delayed picture recognition, and delayed word recognition measured by Computerised Mental Performance Assessment System (COMPASS, Northumbria University)	Following 6 and 12 weeks of intervention
Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ)	23 items questionnaire completed by the parent, with a 3-point scale where a higher score is indicative of more disturbed sleep.	Following 6 and 12 weeks of intervention
Children's Sleep self-report (SSR) questionnaire	26 items questionnaire completed by the child with a 3-point scale where a higher score is indicative of more disturbed sleep.	Following 6 and 12 weeks of intervention
Sleep measures	Sleep actigraphy device (measuring: sleep onset, total sleep time (TST), wake after sleep onset (WASO), awakenings, average awakening, efficiency) and sleep duration as reported in a sleep diary.	Following 12 weeks of intervention
Parent Visual Analogue Scales (VAS)	100 mm VAS in which the parent rates their child via the following parameters: Attention, performance at school, performance of schoolwork at home, happiness, and stress.	Following 6 and 12 weeks of intervention
Child mood Visual Analogue Scales (VAS)	100 mm VAS questionnaire in which the child rates their own mood via the following parameters: Relaxed, alert, jittery, tense, tired, headache, overall mood, mental fatigue, performance, happy/sad, and stress /calm	Following 6 and 12 weeks of intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Northumbria University
• Collaborators: International Flavors & Fragrances Inc.
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Philippa Jackson, Northumbria University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): November 2, 2020
• Primary Completion (Actual): August 14, 2022
• Study Completion (Actual): August 14, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 4, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 15, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): January 5, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): September 28, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 27, 2022
• Last Verified: September 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Attention; Memory; Cognition; Phosphatidylserine; Learning
• Other Study ID Numbers: 39BZ1

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No