A pilot study of thiamin and folic acid in hemodialysis patients with cognitive impairment

This study aimed to explore the effectiveness of thiamin and folic acid supplementation on the improvement of the cognitive function in patients with maintenance hemodialysis. In the present study, we randomly assigned patients undergoing hemodialysis who had the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score lower than 26 to treatment group (n = 25, thiamin 90 mg/day combined with folic acid 30 mg/day) or control group (n = 25, nonintervention). All subjects were followed up for 96 weeks. The primary outcome was the improvement of the MoCA score. The secondary outcomes included homocysteine level, survival and safety. Patients in treatment group had an increase of the MoCA score from 21.95 ± 3.81 at baseline to 25.68 ± 1.96 at week 96 (p p p = 0.048). The proportion of adverse events in treatment group was significantly lower than that in control group. Hemodialysis patients with cognitive impairment treated with thiamin and folic acid had a significant improvement in MoCA score.