The new research was published in The Senior Care Pharmacist​ journal.  It is the work of a team led by Anne L. Hume, PharmD, a professor of pharmacy at the University of Rhode Island.

Hume’s team conducted two online searches for supplements in 2017 and 2019 and compared the results. After consulting with several pharmacists and with consumers, they settled on the following search terms as being the most likely to be used by elderly consumers concerned about dementia: memory supplement, brain health supplement, Alzheimer’s supplement, and dementia supplement. 

They did general searches on Yahoo and Google and also conducted the searches on the websites of GNC, CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, and Amazon.  The researchers used Google Chrome as their web browser and used the ‘incognito mode’ to make sure the results of prior searchers did not affect subsequent searches.

Prevagen listing No. 1 in all searches

The researchers found the most common result in both years and across all platforms was Prevagen, manufactured by Madison, WI-based company Quincy Biosciences.  The product is based on a synthetic form of apoaequorin, a protein found in jellyfish.  The company bases its memory health claims on a study it conducted called the Madison Memory Study, a 90-day trial including 218 participants, 126 taking apoaequorin and 92 on placebo.

The company touts this study as demonstrating that Prevagen is “a best-in-class over-the-counter dietary supplement which have​[sic] shown to support cognitive health and promote well-being in adults.”​