U.S. Air Force photo by J.M. Eddins Jr.

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Maybe you’ve heard of the “keto diet,” a high-fat, low-carb fad. Or you’ve wondered about those expensive ketone drinks athletes rave about. Maybe you’ve never heard of ketones — chemicals your liver makes when you can’t get energy from glucose.

This fall, the National Institute of Aging is enrolling people in a study to see if a citrus-flavored ketone supplement can give you a mental boost.

“People will have the opportunity to see if, after drinking this supplement, they are sharper,” said Dimitrios Kapogiannis, M.D., the study’s principal investigator. It’s the perfect study for “someone who’s interested to see what ketones can do.”

The study is open to people age 55 and older who have a condition they might not know about: metabolic syndrome. If you are overweight, have high blood pressure, high blood sugar and cholesterol, you may have metabolic syndrome. About a third of Americans do. The condition isn’t life-threatening, but it can lead to type 2 diabetes and heart disease. It can also increase your risk for Alzheimer’s disease.

“We want to test this supplement in a population that has a slightly higher risk for Alzheimer’s … because of insulin resistance,” Kapogiannis said.

When a person has Alzheimer’s, the brain can’t use glucose for energy, but it is able to use ketones. That’s how this drink may help.

“We’re trying to prove several things: First, that drinking this drink increases the ketones in your brain, not just in your blood, which we already know it does. If we see the increase of ketones in the brain, does this make your cognitive performance faster and more efficient?” Kapogiannis said. “Also, does it move biomarkers in the blood related to Alzheimer’s in the right direction?”

Four visits, drink at home

Once enrolled in the trial, participants will make four in-person visits to the National Institute of Aging’s clinic in Harbor Point, south of Federal Hill. Free parking is available, and compensation is provided.

Two visits will be relatively short check-ins. The other two half-day visits will include cognitive tests, blood work and other tests and an MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging.

“The cognitive tests are designed to push you to the limit without getting too frustrated,” Kapogannis said. “I think [the cognitive tests] are fun.”

Part of the blind, controlled study will take place at home. One group of participants will receive a citrus-flavored ketone drink (“an interesting taste,” Kapogannis said), and the other will receive a placebo beverage. They’ll be required to drink it three times a day for 28 days, logging each dose.

The National Institute of Aging will provide a free 28-day supply of the drink, which is the most potent on the market, Kapogiannis said. The beverages are safe and widely available at vitamin stores and on Amazon — for a steep price.

“They are extremely expensive. If one were to buy it from the company, it costs $99 for a one-day supply,” Kapogiannis said.

At the end of the study, researchers will compare the MRIs and results of other tests to see if cognitive performance improved after drinking the ketone supplement.

The study may pave the way for more research on Alzheimer’s disease, Kapogiannis said.

“If we see an effect in 28 days, obviously that will motivate future studies to enroll people for longer periods of time. It’s a stepping stone for future research on this compound.”

For more information or to participate in the study, call (410) 350-3941 or email niastudiesrecruitment@mail.nih.gov.