ADDF Launches In-depth Cognitive Vitality Reports

The Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) recently launched Cognitive Vitality Reports, a new resource on CognitiveVitality.org that currently contains over 200 reports for researchers and clinicians interested in the development of drugs for Alzheimer’s and related dementias.

The scientific reports, written by ADDF neuroscientists, expand the Cognitive Vitality platform by making public a collection of in-depth analyses of drugs, drugs-in-development, supplements, nutraceuticals, food/drink, non-pharmacologic interventions, and risk factors related to brain health. In addition to reports on popular supplements and commonly prescribed drugs, there are also reports on interventions that are not yet FDA approved, as well as on drugs that are approved or in development for a wide variety of age-related diseases that may have potential effects on brain health, according to Yuko Hara, PhD, the Director of Aging and Alzheimer’s Prevention at the ADDF.

“These reports incorporate all types of available evidence on brain health, such as the gold standard randomized controlled clinical trials, observational studies, and laboratory findings that are informative for future research but can be unreliable in predicting safety and efficacy in humans,” Hara said.

Cognitive Vitality Reports aim not only to serve as a useful resource for researchers, but also to assist healthcare professionals in making informed decisions about the safety and efficacy of each intervention available to aid cognitive health. The reports evaluate the potential benefit or harm of each strategy for brain health, as well as for other age-related health concerns that can affect the brain, such as cardiovascular diseases or cancers. There is also evaluation of safety data from all types of evidence.

The new resource can be used in tandem with Cognitive Vitality’s longstanding Ratings tool, which is written for a general audience and which provides straightforward and clear evaluations of some of the same drugs and supplements. The combination of our Ratings tool and the new Cognitive Vitality Reports can facilitate conversations between patients and their healthcare providers about the drugs and supplements they are taking. The ADDF first launched Cognitive Vitality in 2014 as an online resource to provide patients with a credible, understandable evaluation of the science for specific strategies to aid in cognitive health and dementia prevention.

"Evaluating evidence can be difficult, even for experts. Cognitive Vitality addresses the critical unmet need of providing simple tools and resources for patients, physicians, and scientists to better understand the latest science-based findings about cognitive health,” said Howard Fillit, MD, Founding Executive Director and Chief Science Officer for the ADDF.