Erinacine A-enriched Hericium Erinaceus Mycelia for Improvement of Recognition, Vision, and Functional MRI Alterations

Patients were recruited with diagnosis of mild or medium dementia, according to criteria by NINCDS-ADRDA (National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke-Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association) as probable or possible Alzheimer's disease. Upon signature of informed consent, they were subject to: (1) Cognitive assessments, including Mini-Mental State Examination(MMSE), Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI), Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument (CASI), and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) on weeks 0, 12, 24, and 49, (2) Blood Markers Tests, including DHEAS, Alpha 1-antichymotrypsin, Superoxide Dismutase, and Homocysteine, Apolipoprotein E, Hemoglobin, Calcium, Albumin, and Amyloid Beta on weeks 0, 24, and 49, (3) fMRI Assessments for Super-resolution Track Density Imaging (TDI), and Blood Oxygenation Level-Dependent (BOLD) Signal Mapping, on weeks 0 and 49, (4) Vision Assessments, including Visual Acuity (VA) and Contrast Sensitivity (CS), on weeks 0, 24, and 49. Mann-Whitney U test and Wilcoxon tests were applied to examine the data before and after dietary intake of Erinacine A-enriched Hericium Erinaceus Mycelia after 49 weeks.