Choline chloride effects on memory in the elderly

Choline chloride (2 g QID) and placebo were administered to 10 subjects over age 60 in a placebo-drug-placebo design. Subjects first took placebo for 7 days, followed by choline for 21 days and finally took placebo for another 21 days. Memory tests were given at the end of both placebo periods and twice during choline administration. Choline did not significantly affect performance on a test of memory storage, a test of retrieval from memory or on the digit span test. In addition, a correlational analysis showed that the difference between memory performance during choline administration and during placebo administration was not significantly related to baseline memory performance. These results, together with results of previous studies indicate that choline is not an effective agent for improving memory in nondemented elderly patients.