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Over the past few months, there has been an aggressive advertising campaign on television and in the print media to promote a product that goes by the name Prevagen.

In the advertisements and commercials, Prevagen is touted as a breakthrough product that can improve memory and other cognitive functions for those who are experiencing the effects of aging.

Though not overt, there is clearly an appeal to the increasing population of older people who are experiencing or beginning to experience the effects of Alzheimer’s disease.

The “magic” ingredient in Prevagen is a protein, apoaequorin, originally discovered in a species of jellyfish. This fact is used in the advertising to suggest that the product is made from “natural” ingredients and is therefore superior to — or safer than — pharmaceutically manufactured products.

Accordingly, Prevagen is marketed and sold as a dietary supplement. (Its ads say it can be found in the vitamin aisle.) However, the apoaequorin in Prevagen is synthetically produced and thus does not qualify as a dietary supplement, according to FDA (Food and Drug Administration) specification.

Based on the information provided by the company that produces Prevagen, it should be classified as a drug. However, the FDA has never approved it as a drug.

In 2017, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), in conjunction with the New York attorney general, filed a lawsuit against the company. Litigation is ongoing.

What is the basis for claims?

What is the science behind Prevagen, and why did the FTC sue its manufacturers?

The brain needs calcium to function properly, but it must have just the right amount. To prevent an excess buildup of calcium, the brain has proteins that bind to the excess calcium and make it inactive.

As we age, the brain produces less and less of these calcium-binding proteins, and an excess of calcium can build up in the brain, causing damage to brain cells and producing the cognitive decline associated with old age.

The protein apoaequorin also has the ability to bind to calcium, and the developers of Prevagen reasoned that the brain’s declining supply of calcium-binding proteins could be supplemented with apoaequorin.

Their literature cites a study that they conducted in which there was an improvement in performance on a few cognitive tests among one group of study subjects (those with minimal or no cognitive impairment) taking Prevagen.

However, in the study as a whole, there was “no statistically significant” difference in performance between those taking Prevagen, those taking a placebo and those taking nothing at all.

Also, by the company’s own admission, apoaequorin does not have a chance to enter the bloodstream and reach the brain, where it is supposedly needed to do the job of calcium binding.

Meanwhile, the FDA has expressed concern that the company has failed to disclose more than 1,000 reported cases of adverse side-effects of Prevagen, including seizures, strokes, chest pain, fainting and even confusion and memory impairment.

If you are tempted to go out and buy Prevagen, think again.

Veena J. Alfred, PhD., is a Certified Dementia Practitioner and CEO/Administrator of AlfredHouse.