A supplement could ease brain fog and cognitive symptoms for patients who have undergone treatment for breast cancer, a new study has found. Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, found that the naturally occurring compound oxaloacetate could alleviate some of the side effects of chemotherapy, which includes brain fog and fatigue. Oxaloacetate is known for being essential for human energy production and is involved in many fundamental metabolic reactions.
The study was published in the journal JCO Oncology Advances on October 20. Studies have previously found that fatigue and cognitive impairment are "frequently" reported among survivors of breast cancer, and that these symptoms may persist for several years after the end of primary treatment, negatively impacting quality of life. The authors of this recent study noted that this cancer-related cognitive impairment has "emerged as one of the most concerning potential complications of cancer treatment." "These are exciting early results from clinical trial that may lead to improved memory and thinking, or cognitive, issues often experienced by breast cancer patients on chemotherapy, sometimes called 'chemo brain,'" Mauricio Reginato, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Drexel University who was not involved in the study, told Newsweek.
"Many types of chemotherapy used to treat breast cancer patients have an unintended effect of reaching the brain," he said. "These drugs can often cause side effects associated with 'brain fog' especially as drug doses are increased during treatment." Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the U.S. after skin cancer, and accounts for around one in three new cancers each year, according to the American Cancer Society. Around one in eight American women will develop breast cancer.
The study included 18 women who had received a diagnosis of early-stage breast cancer, who were at least 12 months after primary treatment (which included surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy) and who had no evidence of active or recurrent breast cancer. The participants had a mean age of 49.6 years. Most had received chemotherapy and 89 percent were currently receiving endocrine therapy.
On average, they were around two years past their initial cancer diagnosis. The participants were given 500 mg anhydrous enol-oxaloacetate capsules by mouth twice a day for eight weeks. By the end of the eight weeks, all of the participants that continued the supplementation experienced a notable improvement of their cognitive impairment scores.
The mean cognitive score of the group had been 29.1, signaling impairment (any scores below 54 indicate impairment) and by the end of the eight weeks the group's mean score was 55.5. Cognitive impairment was measured using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Cognitive Function (FACT-Cog) Perceived Cognitive Impairment (PCI) subscale, a self-report scale used to assess perceived cognitive difficulties in cancer survivors. The 16 participants who continued oxaloacetate supplementation for the eight weeks also experienced a "significant improvement" in fatigue related symptoms, which the researchers noted could have supported the notable change in cognitive impairment scores.
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