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Effectiveness of Citicoline Supplementation Demonstrated in Detail by New Technology
Citicoline belongs to a category of supplements whose potency and benefits far exceed any degree of public awareness they have been able to generate, even among medical practitioners and preventative health professionals alike. This is an ironic phenomenon, curious but by no means rare and certainly not limited to the world of natural health. However, a new study utilizing cutting-edge medical technology might create some new converts to the potential of citicoline supplementation while further cementing the belief of the faithful.
Citicoline supplementation has been used as a potential treatment for ischemic stroke, traumatic brain injury, memory impairment and various other cognitive conditions, as well as amblyopia and even glaucoma. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) studies have previously demonstrated that oral citicoline supplementation alters phosphorus metabolites in brain. This is significant because phosphorous is highly ubiquitous and essential for energy production. The vitamin B complex, itself critical to energy and neurological function, relies heavily on phosphorus, which also forms an integral part of both ATP (the universal source of all cellular energy) and its precursor, phosphocreatine.
The new technology used a three-dimensional chemical-shift imaging (3D-CSI) protocol on sixteen healthy men and women who orally self-administered 500mg or 2000mg of citicoline for six weeks. The results of this study, conducted at the Cognitive Neuroimaging Laboratory and Brain Imaging Center at McLean Hospital in Belmont, MA, revealed that citicoline supplementation (at both doses) significantly increased levels of phosphocreatine and beta NTP, primary indicators of high energy phosphate and ATP levels respectively. Furthermore, these increases were found exclusively in the anterior cingulate cortex, which is a fibrous bundle responsible for relaying neural signals between the left and right sides of the brain. This sheds further light on citicoline?s mechanism of action, demonstrating that its effects are not simply health-enhancing on a general antioxidant or nutrient support level, but also unambiguous and definitive with respect to positively altering distinct neurological markers in a specific part of the brain.
Obtained from: Silveri et al. Oral Citicoline supplementation significantly alters phosphorus metabolites in the anterior cingulate cortex. Journal of NeuroScience, Published Ahead of Print, March 2008.
