Boston, MA—A new study of a branded brain function supplement (FOCUSfactor from Factor Nutrition Labs) showed the possibility of improved memory, concentration and focus for subjects taking the supplement after six weeks.

Some 96 healthy, adults between the ages of 18 and 65 were enrolled in the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study conducted by Cognitive Research Corporation. The Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) was used to test the memories of subjects before, after and during the trial period. As part of the analysis, subjects were shown a series of unrelated words for a certain amount of time, and then asked to repeat back as many as they could remember. The RAVLT is the most commonly used test for memory in studies.

After six weeks, those that received the supplement remembered 6.5 more words than they had from the start, while the placebo group remembered 4.5 more words. “The clinical study demonstrated that, compared to placebo, FOCUSfactor improved abilities referred to as memory, concentration, and focus in healthy adults,” said Gary Kay, president of Cognitive Research Corporation. The effects of aging were taken into consideration; the 30–39 aged supplement group had improved their scores to match the 20–29 aged placebo group. In this case, the supplement helped to improve memory and, according to Kay, was “very well tolerated” by the subjects.

Published in WholeFoods Magazine, January 2012