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"Supplements of French maritime pine bark extract may improve the flow of blood in the tiny blood vessels of the retina, and enhance sight in diabetics with early stage eye problems, says a new study. Visual acuity, or the clearness of vision, was found to improve from 14/20 to 17/20 in people with early stage retina damage associated with diabetes (diabetic retinopathy) following daily supplements of the pine bark extract, Pycnogenol, for two months. Forty-six diabetics participated in the randomised controlled study with the findings published in the Journal of Ocular Pharmacology and Therapeutics. "Our study suggests that Pycnogenol taken in the early stages of retinopathy may enhance retinal blood circulation accompanied by a regression of oedema, which favourably improves vision of patients," said lead researcher Dr Robert Steigerwalt. "Pycnogenol may be particularly beneficial for preventing this complication in diabetic patients, based on the large number of individuals who were diagnosed when the disease had already significantly progressed"

In an article published online on January 4, 2010 in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Robert Krikorian of the University of Cincinnati, along with his colleagues from the US and Canadian Departments of Agriculture, report that consuming blueberry juice was associated with improvements in learning and memory in individuals with age-related memory decline. The trial enrolled five men and four women over the age of 70 who reported forgetfulness and memory lapses characteristic of early memory decline. Participants were given the equivalent of 2 to 2 ½ cups of a commercially available blueberry juice daily for 12 weeks. Cognitive assessments were conducted at the beginning of the study and during the final week of the trial. At the study's conclusion, learning and recall were improved, and depressive symptoms and glucose levels tended to be reduced. When subjects who received blueberry juice were compared with a demographically matched sample who received a placebo beverage in a companion trial, test scores for learning ability were significantly better.