Fishing for a Cure

Fishing

Mothers-to-be are being encouraged to eat oily fish to ensure the healthy development of their babies’ brain, school children are given omega 3 supplements to help improve behaviour and performance and now it seems that the more mature among us should pay close attention to the benefits of omega 3 for our own cognitive health.

Alzheimer’s Disease affects around 750,000 people in the UK alone - a figure that is growing. The common form of dementia, it is characterised by progressive cognitive deterioration, memory loss, impaired speech and skilled movement and a loss of recognition. Despite its prevalence and a plethora of research, there remains no cure for the disease, although standard treatment with acetylcholinesterase inhibitor drugs can temporarily slow down the progression of symptoms in some people. However, a brand new study1 that investigates the role of omega 3 fatty acids in the memory decline of Alzheimer patients may bring new hope to sufferers.

The one year study, conducted in Sweden and presented at the 10th Annual Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders in October 2006, included over two hundred patients in an early stage of the disease. Each was randomly given a pharmaceutical grade omega 3 supplement high in DHA (which the researchers called a ‘DHA concentrate’) for the full year, or an inactive placebo for six months, followed by the omega 3 supplement for the remainder of the study. Memory capacity among all patients in the trial was measured with the MMSE (Mini Mental State Examination) during the year. Those patients taking the omega 3 supplement showed a halting of memory decline, while the capacity of those in the placebo group continued to deteriorate. When switched to the same active treatment, the placebo group also showed a halting of further memory decline. (Normally a patient would lose four points on the MMSE scale in one year due to the progression of the disease.) See fig 1.

fig 1

Fig 1. Patients taking omega 3 showed a halting of memory decline whilst the capacity of those taking a placebo continued to decline.
1 . Freund-Levi Y, et al. Arch Neurol, Oct 2006; 63: 1402-1408.

‘These results are very positive and rather unsuspected,’ said the head researcher, Dr Freund-Levi. ‘Acetylcholine esterase inhibitors are effective to some extent, but they do not inhibit memory decline. The DHA concentrate (omega 3 supplement) seems to do just that.’ Omega 3 DHA is the primary structural component of brain tissue and has an essential role in the propagation of electrical messages conducted in the brain. Low levels of DHA have previously been associated with Alzheimer’s and low blood levels of DHA have even been correlated in those with general memory decline.

Dr Freund-Levi goes on: ‘We are now starting to realise the importance of (omega 3) DHA in the brain’ It seems that not only is DHA an important structural component of brain cells but ‘DHA and its metabolites seem to exert a preventive effect against development of brain cell death’. These positive findings now indicate that early treatment with omega 3 can help to reduce memory decline in patients experiencing the early symptoms of Alzheimer’s.

Healthspan’s Omega 3 (TG) with a high DHA concentration contains the same fish oils as were used in the Swedish study referenced in this article. See page 21 of the Nutrition Directory.

1. Freund-Levi Y, et al. Arch Neurol, Oct 2006; 63:1402-1408

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