Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I wanted to wait until after I’d tried this product for a month (one full bottle) before writing my review. The good news: I noticed no physical problems — no upset stomach, no sleep issues, no “jittery” feeling. I do sometimes react to meds, so this was a good thing. The not-so-good news: it didn’t seem to have any effect as far as improving cognitive function or memory. I tried a few “memory tests” during the month and my scores didn’t improve at all. Fine — there are no guarantees with things like this and I totally accept that. Others obviously see results. So, no harm, no foul. More troubling, however, are the references to studies that are intended to support the claims made by Natrol for this product. The product description here on Amazon claims several times that “clinically proven results” and “statistically significant cognitive improvements in adults, seniors and children … “ are backed by “9 human clinical studies.” Let’s look at this, shall we? My usual way of reviewing OTC products that make such claims is to check out the studies to see if the conclusions stated by the researchers do, indeed, support the claims made by the manufacturer. I don’t evaluate the study methods or protocols — just a basic check to see if the conclusion reached by the authors in any way matches or supports the manufacturer’s claims. I found the 9 studies listed on the manufacturer’s website, numbered 1 through 9. There are actually 11 studies since the listing for Study #7 includes 3 separate studies and each is listed with a full citation. I numbered those 7a, 7b, and 7c. Long story short: only 2 of the studies are listed in PubMed — the National Institutes of Health library of medical publications, and one of those was retracted. The author of the discredited study, coincidentally, is a co-author in 7 of the 11 studies cited by the manufacturer (#3, #5, #6, #7a, #7b, #7c, and #9). I’m not a chemist — bio- or otherwise — just an interested layperson who takes claims made by manufacturers seriously. Based on what I found in the abstracts of the studies cited by the manufacturer, I’m not convinced that there are “9 clinical studies” that support the claim of “clinically proven results.” That’s not to say that Cognium isn’t effective for some people — just that the research cited does not appear to support the claims. Perhaps additional peer-reviewed research will eventually provide more solid support. I can give this no more than 2 stars.