Apple juice may help behavior, but not cognition, in Alzheimer's patients, U.S. researchers said.

Ruth Remington, Amy Chan, Alicia Lepore, Elizabeth Kotlya and Thomas Shea, all of the University of Massachusetts in Lowell, found patients who consumed two 4-ounce glasses of apple juice daily had no change in the patients' Dementia Rating Scale and day-to-day abilities, but a 27 percent improvement measured by the Neuropsychiatric Inventory.

The study, published in the American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias, suggested drinking apple juice may help patients improve the declining moods characterizing normal progression of moderate-to-severe Alzheimer's disease.

"The modest, but statistically significant, impact of apple juice on the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia in this study adds to the body of evidence supporting the usefulness of nutritional approaches, including fruit and vegetable juices, in delaying the onset and progression of Alzheimer's disease, even in the face of known genetic risk factors," the study authors said in a statement.

"As in prior studies with vitamin supplements, it indicates that nutritional supplementation can be effective even during the late stages of Alzheimer's disease."