Study of Pomegranate Juice on Memory in Older Adults

This project is designed to study whether pomegranate juice benefits cognitive abilities in middle-aged and older non-demented volunteers. Subjects will be randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups: either a placebo or the pomegranate juice. Subjects will drink eight ounces of the pomegranate juice or placebo daily for twelve months. The investigators expect the people receiving the pomegranate juice to show better cognitive performance compared with those receiving a placebo after one, six, and twelve months. The investigators believe cognitive decline and treatment response will vary according to a genetic risk for Alzheimer's. The investigators will study 212 non-demented subjects aged 50-75 years. Initially, subjects will undergo a clinical assessment, an MRI and a blood draw to determine genetic risk and to rule out other neurodegenerative disorders linked to memory complaints. Subsequently, subjects will undergo the first memory (or neuropsychological) assessments. Following the first assessment, subjects will begin drinking the juice (either the pomegranate juice or the placebo). Subjects will undergo a brief memory test at one-month mark. At six months, subjects will have a second, full neuropsychological assessment. The final assessment will take place at the end of the study, the 12-month mark. Additional blood will be drawn at baseline and at 12 months and frozen to assess inflammatory markers if outcomes are positive. In total, subjects will be expected to come to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) for 5 visits during the course of 12-13 months.