2.1. Participants
Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease, neurocognitive function disease, dementia
RECRUITMENT
One hundred older (between the ages of 60–80) adult men (n = 29) and women (n = 71) volunteered to participate in this double-blind, randomized controlled study. Recruitment occurred via word-of-mouth discussions with various community center leaders allowing the investigative team to provide a talk to prospective participants. Once a participant expressed an interest in participating in the study, they were interviewed prior to study enrollment to ensure that they were not supplementing with β-alanine (BA) in the previous 6 months prior to the study period. In addition, it was also determined whether they had been previously diagnosed with dementia, neurocognitive function disease (i.e., Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease), or any other medical condition that would preclude participation in the study. A participant who had any underlying neurological condition was not eligible to enroll in the study. All interviews were conducted by a licensed physician. The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee at Ariel University (AU-HEA-YO-20201117). Participants were not permitted to use any additional nutritional supplements for at least 6-weeks prior to the study. Screening for supplement use and medical history was accomplished during the interview with the study physician. This study was registered as a clinical trial with the Israel Ministry of Health (MOH_2021-09-30_010279).