ReGen talks Colostrinin and cognition to natural health practitioners

A review of research conducted to date was presented by ReGen's chief scientific officer Dr Marian Kruzel at the International Congress on Natural Medicine.

The event is a canny pre-marketing strategy for the companies, since practitioners are often a first port of call for consumers looking for ways of improving or maintaining health through dietary supplements.

Colostrinin is a trademarked complex derived from ovine and bovine colostrum (the first milk produced by a mammal after giving birth).

In addition to launching Colostirin itself as a nutraceutical, the company is also developing a pharmaceutical preparation based on the peptides within it, for the treatment of Alheimer's disease.

In July last year, the UK-company signed a license agreement with Metagenetics for the launch of a nutraceutcal aimed at early stage cognitive decline.

It is expected that Metagencis will launch Colostrinin in the United States in Q4 2007.

The congress was sponsored by Metagenics via its Australian subsidiary, Health World.

A similar approach was taken by Canadian firm Advitech for its Dermylex supplement.

In this case, Advitech delayed the launch of its product so as to gather additional data on its nutraceutical's potential for mild to moderate psoriasis that would help encourage dermatologists to recommend it to patients.

Dr Kruzel called the audience "extraordinary… it includes physicians, health care professionals and many other disciplines concerned about wellbeing in rapidly aging societies."

Her presentation comprised a round up of pre-clinical and human clinical data on Colostrin's role age-related cognitive decline.

One aspect was the reduced production of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), which increase with old age and are associated with tissue and metabolic damage.

The company has also looked into the prevention of the aggregation of beta-amyloid, the protein associated with Alzheimer's disease, and its neurotoxicity.

Clinical trials involving 150 human subjects with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease have shown it to have beneficial effects on cognitive and functional performance.

ReGen has also conducted animal studies to establish that Colostrinin is well-tolerated at daily doses up to 100 times that recommended for humans, over a prolonged period.

Moreover, data has indicated that the nutraceutical given in the drinking water could increase the lifespan of mice prone to premature ageing by around 30 per cent.

The full methodologies and results of the studies have not been seen by NutraIngredients.com.