Prevagen, Jellyfish and the Brain

If you buy apoaequorin — a protein that comes from the Aequorea victoria jellyfish — to help preserve your memory, well, you might get stung.

The active ingredient in the supplement Prevagen, apoaequorin is supposed to regulate calcium levels in the brain. Too much calcium in the brain is connected with aging and cell death. So, in theory, a substance that keeps calcium levels at bay would benefit brain function and potentially help prevent Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Experts, however, don’t believe that apoaequorin does this work in the brain. The gut most likely breaks the protein down before it ever reaches the brain.

The Global Council on Brain Health does not recommend taking apoaequorin for brain health. The council, an independent panel of scientists, health care providers and other experts, reviewed the scientific research available on the brain benefits of apoaequorin. Among only a handful of studies that examine the effects of the jellyfish protein, just one shows that it has any benefit on brain function. But there are reasons to doubt the conclusions of the study. First, it was conducted by Quincy Bioscience, the manufacturer of Prevagen, which has a clear interest in promoting the benefits of the supplement. Second, the study didn’t prove that the supplement was better than a placebo, which is typically the minimum requirement to demonstrate the benefits of any drug. Yet, Quincy Bioscience touts the supplement as clinically proven to help with mild, age-related memory loss.

The council isn’t the only group to make waves in response to Quincy Bioscience’s unsupported claims. AARP has joined other advocacy organizations to speak out against the company’s misleading marketing. The United States Court of Appeals gave the Federal Trade Commission and the state of New York the nod to move forward with a lawsuit against the supplement maker for its deceptive claims.