Summary— Pyroglutamic acid (PCA) was compared with placebo in a randomized, double blind trial for assessing its efficacy in treating memory deficits in 40 aged subjects. Twenty subjects were treated with PCA and 20 with placebo over a period of 60 d. Memory functions were evaluated at baseline and after 60 d of treatment by means of a battery made up of 6 memory tasks. The results suggest that PCA is effective in improving some verbal memory functions in subjects affected by age‐related memory decline.