Print This Page   |   Email To A Friend

Increasing Sales Through Product Education

If I walked into a major electronics retail store and asked questions about a specific television or DVD player, chances are the salesperson would have the information or could easily locate it.

If I visited a health food store with questions about a product or an ingredient in a formulation, all too often questions can't be answered or are not answered to my satisfaction. Other times I've heard a health food store employee speaking to other customers about a product and their knowledge of it is virtually non-existent.

Recently, I've been concerned that my father, who just turned 91, may be experiencing some symptoms of memory loss. So what's a son to do? I started researching supplements and found an ingredient called Citicoline that may be a healthy supplement for your brain. Citicoline may help combat the ravages of environmental pollution, internal toxicity, stress and a lack of proper diet and nutrients by stimulating the nervous system process to maintain optimum sustainability to retain our ability to think cognitively and maintain our memories.

I encountered a lot of technical information, but I took the initiative to translate this information and determine if supplements with Citicoline might help my dad. I learned that the brain consists of a network of nerves filling the cranial cavity of the skull. It functions as the center of the nervous system and the seat of consciousness, intelligence and of willed and reflex actions. The nerves are excited electrically so information is transmitted from one nerve to the other during the period of excitement. This mechanism is also believed to be responsible for the act of memory itself. Memorization in the brain occurs in the hippocampus, where acetylcholinergic nerves are widely distributed and where activity is believed to be important for memory function.

There have been hundreds of memory studies citing positive results for using Citicoline to improve performance, even to the extent that Citicoline might be effective in combating the effects of certain neurodegenerative conditions. In my research conducted on the Internet, I learned that Citicoline is a precursor of phosphatidylcholine, a type of phospholipid that is a component of cell membranes. When the body absorbs Citicoline, it is broken down into uridine and choline. Citicoline reforms in the brain and is used as raw material for phosphatidylcholine synthesis.

It is believed that Citicoline stabilizes the membranes of neuronal cells through the metabolic pathway, and inhibits the formation of free fatty acids, substances exhibiting cytotoxicity. Citicoline is also converted to acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter. Acetylcholine is vital for communication between neurons, particularly in the brain. A deficit of acetylcholine, a powerful neurotransmitter responsible for storing and recalling memories, has been linked to a number of neurological disorders.

One explanation is a decrease in the enzyme that converts choline into acetylcholine in the brain. Citicoline has been shown to raise the amount of acetylcholine.

As I continued my research, I learned that Citicoline is a revolutionary alternative to phosphatidylcholine. Citicoline has been used extensively for neurodegenerative conditions and may promote optimal neural and cognitive functions. Numerous Citicoline scientific studies have indicated effectiveness improving mild memory problems associated with aging. Research indicates Citicoline has a targeted action for increasing brain phospholipid synthesis. Citicoline is absorbed as a form of its hydrolyzed products, uridine and choline. Within the brain neuronal cells convert uridine into cytidine, which reacts with choline to produce Citicoline. Citicoline then moves into the metabolic pathway of phosphatidylcholine production in the brain.

Citicoline is found naturally in the body and has been shown to be harmless in the clinical pathology of actual subjects. In a Clinical Research Center (CRC) of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1996 study in Cambridge, MA, under the direction of Paul A. Spiers, PhD, a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled parallel group design was employed to test the verbal memory of older volunteers given Citicoline. After data analysis, a subgroup, whose members had relatively inefficient memories, was identified. These subjects were recruited for a second study that used a crossover design. The subjects either took a placebo or Citicoline, 1000 mg daily, for three months in the initial study. In the crossover study, subjects took both placebo and Citicoline, 2000 mg daily, each for two months.

The study consisted of 95 people (47 females/48 males) in age from 50 to 85 years old. They were screened for memory conditions and other neurological problems. Of the subjects with relatively inefficient memories, 32 participated in the crossover study.

Verbal memory was tested at the beginning of each study using a logical memory passage. Memory scores were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance and covariance, followed by planned comparisons when appropriate.

In the initial study, Citicoline therapy improved delayed recall on logical memory only for the subjects with relatively inefficient memories. In the crossover study, the higher dosage of Citicoline was clearly associated with improved immediate and delayed logical memory.

The CRC study concluded that Citicoline therapy improved verbal memory functioning in older individuals with relatively inefficient memories. The study also suggested that Citicoline might prove to be helpful for elderly who are more intellectual than the participating subjects. As a result, Citicoline may prove effective in improving mild memory problems associated with aging. In another study conducted at the Brain Imaging Center at McLean Hospital in Belmont, MA, led by S.M. Babb, they found administration of Citicoline may increase phosphatidylcholine synthesis and might reverse its loss that decreases with age.

As a retailer or salesperson, we must take a proactive approach in an effort to provide informative, effective customer service. Citicoline may prove effective in treating age-related cognitive decline that may be the precursor of dementia and if so, consumers may want to be made aware of such products.

While it may be the role of manufacturers to promote their product, it's also the retailer's responsibility to learn about the products and ingredients they sell to gain consumer confidence, grow their sales and in my situation, potentially help an elderly person slow the growth of neurodegenerative conditions.