VitaminsUSA is committed to providing high quality and effective nutritional supplements that
have the greatest use to a maturing population. Our first offering is NeuroVantage, with a full
description of the product below. We are also working toward bringing out additional products, including
a Multiple Vitamin Mineral Combination and a Bone and Joint Formula. We invite you to try NeuroVantage, and keep checking back to our website for news on these and other new products

Why NeuroVantage?

Vitamins USA's first product is called NeuroVantage. It is designed to provide critical naturally occurring nutritional elements that are related to cognitive function.

NeuroVantage is a dietary supplement and is not a drug. Because it is not a drug we do not claim that NeuroVantage will "cure Alzheimer's" or any other disease.

By cognitive function we are talking about normal memory, the ability to recall people's names, faces, phone numbers, and where we left the car keys, the mental tasks that seem to become more difficult as we age.

Sometimes as we age, we have trouble finding the right word or phrase to describe situations. These are conditions with which we are all familiar. In and of themselves these little lapses are merely annoying, but they possibly signal the beginning of mental deterioration that can culminate in an inability to learn, concentrate and reason. Basically, we may lose our ability to engage in higher brain functions.

This decline begins generally in our 4th or 5th decade of life. But the seriousness of the decline and time-frame in which the decline takes place varies depending on individual circumstances. Genetics plays a role in mental acuity. If your parents remained alert and mentally intact late into their lives, chances are you are pre-disposed to do the same thing. Some factors that your parents didn’t face may affect you even if you have a genetic predisposition to remain mentally alert throughout your lifespan. For example, we are under more stress than our parents or grandparents, and we lead more sedentary lifestyles, many of us sitting in offices 8-10 hours a day. To some extent there has been a decline in the nutritional value of the food we eat as a result of over processing, over farming, and contamination by environmental pollutants. Alcohol, even a little, kills brain cells. Combine increased stress and alcohol consumption and you may have a recipe for declining mental ability. If that isn’t bad enough, some of the prescription drugs we may need as we age, have a side effect of decreasing our mental ability (Duane Graveline MD , Lipitor: Thief of Memory).

Generally, aging influences cognitive function in five principal ways:

1. Changes in diet, and nutritional absorption that may lead to deficiency in some of the nutrients required for healthy brain function.
2. Declining levels of hormones beginning at about 40
3. Diminished oxygen available to the brain due to disease such as atherosclerosis, or heart disease, or a life style that may include smoking, drinking, drug abuse, limited exercise, poor diet and stress.
4. Free-radical damage that accumulates throughout one’s life
5. Declining vitality of the brain cells.

Although it seems like it would be difficult, protecting our mental abilities is not as hopeless as it might sound.

Four nutritional materials have been demonstrated in small scale trials to counteract the many causes of declining cognitive function. They all operate by supplying the brain with the necessary natural chemicals that are abundant in, and a normal constituent of, younger brains.

By presenting these four naturally occurring nutrients, NeuroVantage may increase the brain’s ability to function normally. We stress, however, that NeuroVantage is not a drug and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

What’s in NeuroVantage?

Phosphatidyl Serine

Phosphatidyl Serine (PS) is a phospholipid (a type of fat that contains phosphorus) that is found in all cells. This natural chemical occurs most frequently in the walls, or membranes, of brain cells. PS is responsible for many neural functions including stimulation of neurotransmitter release, activation of ion-transport mechanism and increases in glucose and adenosine monophosphate levels. All of this has to do with normal brain function related to cell-to-cell communication, including repair of memory function and declining cognitive function.

PS has been the subject of 23 studies. Twelve of those studies were “double blind” that is neither the patient nor the administrator knew if the patient was receiving PS or a placebo. Double blinding helps insure impartiality in reporting results. The studies indicate that use of PS strongly correlates to improvement in short term memory and other daily activities.

One such study was conducted at the Memory Assessment Clinics Bethesda MD. In that study 149 patients aged 50 to 75 were evaluated after a 12 week program utilizing either PS or a placebo. The patients were evaluated at 3-6-9-12 and 16 weeks. The criteria for evaluation were ability to recall names, recalling faces,  numbers, and ability to learn. Improvement was noted in three of the five criteria, but fell off as the study continued. Of importance and germane to our age group is the fact that a subgroup of 57 individuals with more severe cognitive impairment and lower daily functioning showed improvement in name and face recall recognition, remembering telephone numbers, finding misplaced objects and increased concentration. These improved results lasted beyond the test period. The brains of those in the subgroup returned to a cognitive age of about 52 rather than an average of 64!

Stress: In some studies PS was found to reduce depression and stress induced symptoms. In a study done in Milan Italy on 10 elderly women (70-81 years of age). After 15 days of treatment with PS researchers found that compared to pre-treatment levels, anxiety levels decreased significantly, and interests in socialization increased as did long term memory and learning ability.

There are no toxic effects associated with PS. In a large scale test (500 patients over six months) PS was administered with a variety of traditional prescriptions. No drug interactions were observed.

PS is now available derived from Soy Lecithin (that’s the source of PS in NeuroVantage).

L-Acetylcarnitine

Also known as ALCAR and LAC, this substance has been the subject of study for its ability to inhibit mental decline, especially in the elderly.

One such study, the "L-acetylcarintine treatment of mental decline in the elderly" (Salvioli, g., Neri, M., Institute of Gerontology and Geriatrics Estense Hospital University of Modena Italy -1994) utilized a single blind, 90 day clinical trial of 481 subjects in 44 geriatric and neurological units, employing well known evaluation procedures such as Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Geriatric Deterioration Scale (GDS).

ALCAR's effects were evaluated during and after the test period. The cognitive sphere evaluated by MMSE showed a significant increase in the total score at the end of ALCAR use. The Randt memory test also revealed that ALCAR improved the items tested, with the total score and the memory index improving.

The behavioral-relational aspects as evaluated by the Family Stress Test showed a marked decrease in the total score after treatment. The same score was observed for instability and negative feelings. There were no significant adverse drug reactions.

ALCAR supplementation has been shown to be neuroprotective, but not cureative, in instances of cerebral ischemia, peripheral nerve injury. See "Mechanisms of ischemic neuroprotection by Acetyl L Carnitine" Zanelli et al. Annals of New York Academy of Sciences 1053: 153-161. Additionally "Delayed Acetyl L Carnitine administration and its effect on sensory neuronal rescue after peripheral nerve injury Journal of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery -60 (2)."

In many cases the mind "boosting" effect of Acetylcarnitine (ALCAR) is the generally observed effect of felling mentally sharper, having more focus, and being more alert.

In addition to its mind sharpening effects, ALCAR may reduce mental fatigue in those who suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome. This is because ALCAR improves the function of mitochondria within cells that are involved in energy production.

GlyceroPhosphoCholine

Glycerphosphocholine (pronounced Gli-sero-fos-fo-ko-lean) is also known as Alpha-Glycerphosphocholine and more commonly as GPC.

GPC has been scrutinized for over a decade by the scientific community for its ability to improve cognitive function. In this it is somewhat similar to PS (above). Additionally, CPG has the added benefit of increasing mental focus among young healthy populations.

Green Tea Extract

Camellia sinensis, commonly called Green Tea is, a powerful antioxidant that acts as a nerve calmative and astringent. These qualities make it ideal for improving general health, reducing mental confusion caused by inability to concentrate, and keeping the nervous system healthy but not over stimulated.

Green Tea has been studied for its ability to enhance mental acuity, mental alertness,
cognitive well-being, memory, concentration and short-term memory.

The Green tea extract used in NeuroVantage has been decaffeinated. This is why the ingredient is so effective at reducing anxiety, a common cause of mental confusion. The decaffeinated version of Green Tea does not interfere with sleep, a necessary component of mental well being.

Parris Kidd Ph.D

Much of the data presented here is drawn from the work and subsequent publications of Parris Kidd Ph.D., the world’s leading authority on GPC and PS. NeuroVantage was formulated by Dr. Kidd.

Dr. Kidd points out that "at least twenty-three clinical trials have been done with GPC. All of them had positive outcomes." One of the most significant of these studies "alpha-Glycerophosphocholine in the mental recovery of cerebral ischemic attacks. An Italian multi-center clinical trial" published in Annals of the New York Academy of Science in 1994, points to GPC's ability to assist stroke victims to "normality" scores at the end of 3 months of assessment. Using other measurement techniques, victims on GPC showed "no cognitive decline" or "forgetfulness" in 71% of the patients.

In every clinical trial to date, GPC improved performance with respect to memory and attention to detail, reduced disorientation, irritability, emotional lability and indifference to surroundings.

When measured against the Sandoz Clinical Assessment Geriatric (SCAG) scale and a quantifiable improvement in cognitive decline in emotional affective aspects, and problems with interpersonal relationships was noted. In fact, utilizing the SCAG scale, GPC was more effective in meeting the challenges of deteriorating cognitive capability than some prescription drugs and all other nutrient based protocols.

While NeuroVantage is not a drug, GPC has been studied in stroke recovery. Dr. Kidd reports "GPC has produced impressive benefits for brain trauma recovery. Paretti (Choline alfoscerate in cognitive decline and in acute cerebrovascular disease: an analysis of published clinical data. Mechs Aging Dev 2001; 22: 2041) covered three clinical trials with GPC against stroke. To assess functional recovery in the acute post-stroke phase all three trials used the Mathew's scale. This scale carefully assesses cognitive domains (awareness level, orientation) and neurological domains (language, cranial nerve function, motor sensory function). In addition, two of the trials used the Global Deterioration Scale (GDS) to assess the severity of cognitive decline and the Crichton Geriatric Rating Scale (CGRS) to assess behavioral functions."

Dr. Kidd continues "These three clinical trials totaled 2,484 patients. None included control groups because the patients were too ill to be denied treatment."

In the first phase of treatment patients were treated with GPC intramuscularly which resulted in a 20-30% improvement in neurological functions.

In later oral treatment phases clinical improvement continued. All tests provided similar data in which the MMSE improved 12-15%, GDS improved 20% and CGRS improved 19-21%

Dr Kidd reports "In a fourth stroke trial (following a similar design) 320 patients in 34 centers were followed for 6 months, beginning on GPC Intramuscularly and switching to oral. The benefits measured were highly statically significant."

Because to some extent surgery and specifically the anesthetics used in surgical procedures mimics the cognitive impairment of stroke and other cognitive deficits, GPC has been evaluated in 20 patients exhibiting mood and personality change, impairment of cognitive function, and mental fatigue resulting from anesthesia.

The 20 patients were divided into two groups of 10 each. One group received GPC and the other a placebo (sugar pill). At the end of 6 months, the GPC group had no remaining memory deterioration while the placebo group demonstrated a significant loss in function.

The unique chemical structure of GPC may correlate it to the following functions:

1. As noted, improvement in cognitive function.
2. Increases in hGH (human growth Hormone) associated with repair of tissues
3. Improved results of exercise
4. Improved liver function
5. Improved balance and coordination

The clinical data is compellingly positive. GPC should be considered if we wish to optimize brain function, awareness, and mood as we age.

Just one tablet twice a day is the recommended dose of NeuroVantage and can be taken with or without food.

NeuroVantage is the right product at the right time in our lives.

* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease