Changes in cerebral glucose metabolism in patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease: a pilot study with the Chinese herbal medicine fuzhisan.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of fuzhisan (FZS, 10mg/day), a Chinese herbal medicine, on cerebral glucose metabolism and neuropsychological metrics in patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD). This was a 12-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study. Twenty-two subjects were randomly assigned to groups that received FZS (n=12) or placebo (n=10). Positron emission tomography (PET) was used to study the regional cerebral metabolic rate of glucose consumption (rCMRglc) at baseline and week 12. We evaluated the clinical efficacy of FZS on cognition and behavioral functions using the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive subscale (ADAS-Cog) and the Neuropsychiatric Index (NPI), respectively. Compared with placebo, FZS significantly improved ADAS-Cog scores and NPI scores at week 12. Moreover, FZS treatment favorably improved rCMRglc in the bilateral temporal and parietal cortices, hippocampus, and posterior cingulate gyrus. These results suggest that FZS treatment may have a positive effect on cognition, behavioral functions, and rCMRglc in mild-to-moderate AD patients.