Leggo my Alzheimer’s: A Human Subjects Research Study on Maple Syrup’s effect against Alzheimer’s Disease

Motivation:

A concentrated form of Maple Syrup was found to reduce the folding of proteins found in the brain that are theorized to lead to Alzheimer’s disease after in lab testing from the University of Toronto’s Dr. Donald Weaver was presented at the American Chemical Society Symposium. We are hoping to investigate the ingestive effects of Maple Syrup and whether it could prevent the worsening of a patients’ Alzheimer’s disease.

The Pseudoscience:

In terms of actual pseudoscience, there doesn’t seem to be much here, beyond the click-baiting title from a Fox News article that maple syrup could possibly be a cure. What the discovery was at the symposium was that extract from the maple syrup prevented folding of a protein that has been linked to Alzheimer’s. This means that it has the possibility of serving as  preventative agent and not a traditional cure. Other than this, Dr. Weaver himself says that most of the stories have not oversold the findings saying, “Coverage has been excellent. None of the stories has “oversold” the results. All have emphasized that these are preliminary data and that we are not saying that maple syrup is a cure for dementia. They appreciate that these are early times and much work remains to be done”(Luke, University of Toronto News).

Study Details:

A sample size of over 200 people would seem reasonable for an initial investigation of the consumption of maple syrup. Since it is concentrated maple syrup, a pill would be used to avoid the diabetic possibilities from the over-use of syrup. Participants in the study will have to be inside the same age range and should be suffering from early symptoms of Alzheimer’s since we are aiming to prove the preventative effects of Maple Syrup on the disease.

This study should last at least a year since Alzheimer’s symptoms are capable of dramatically worsening over the span of a month. Eligible participants would be randomly selected to either a control or experimental group. Both groups would be informed of possible resources and referrals available to their community to fulfill the aspect of beneficence to the control group, which would only be offered a placebo pill instead of an actual pill of concentrated maple syrup. This act of deception is necessary for this study and without much treatment existing for Alzheimer’s it is ethically allowed. Surveys can be distributed to whoever the primary caretaker is to supplement the results of MRI testing to measure the severity of Alzheimer’s. This kind of testing and survey collection can happen at the end of every month. Small compensation in the form of a gift card can also be provided to participants, something characteristic of Human Subjects Research. Funding from most of this would hopefully be from the NIH since they have a strong interest in reducing the pressure on the healthcare system from older individuals due to the higher frequency of their visits. Any type of reduction in the amount of people suffering from Alzheimer’s would greatly diminish this burden since accidents from lack of cognitive function are a large source of hospital visits. 

Reviewing Participants:

Participants would need to give their own consent. They need to be aware that they can leave the study at any moment they see fit, and that said study will not interfere with their medical care and the costs associated. They must be made aware of any risks involved in MRI scanning, ingesting pills, or answering survey questions that may trigger an emotional response. These risks must also be disclosed to their primary caretaker, so that they understand the risks their loved one may be taking in the case that the person loses further cognitive function.

After Completion:

A success for this study would be either disproving the effects of a Maple Syrup pill, and thus preventing further resources from being wasted on a fruitless endeavor, or proving that the orally ingested Maple Syrup Pill does have a noticeable positive correlation in preventing the decline of the cognitive abilities of those with mild cases of Alzheimer’s. If the latter is the case, further testing will be needed before it can be confirmed as an actual treatment for Alzheimer’s, and given to the public. This would be more clinical trials, that would hopefully build a strong case for this to go to market, and help fight the rising wave of Alzheimer’s that has been occurring to seniors.

Sources:

https://www.foxnews.com/health/maple-syrup-isnt-just-delicious-it-could-also-cure-alzheimers-disease

https://www.utoronto.ca/news/sweet-discovery-maple-syrup-may-prevent-alzheimers-sparks-worldwide-interest-u-t-expert