Fish oils 'reduce Alzheimer's'
Fish oils could help to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease, US researchers say
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Tuesday, 25, Dec 2007 10:00
US researchers claim to have proved that fish oils can be a deterrent against Alzheimer's disease.
The team also says it has managed to find out why the oils have a beneficial effect.
Previous studies have linked the omega 3 in fish oils with a reduction in the form of dementia.
Today's report, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, says the omega 3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) increases the production of LR11 – a protein that is found at reduced levels in Alzheimer's patients.
This protein is also known to destroy another protein that forms the 'plaques' associated with the disease.
The researchers base their claims on studies of the effect of fish oil's DHA in multiple biological systems, in which it was administered by diet and by adding it to neurons grown in laboratory.
"We found that even low doses of DHA increased the levels of LR11 in rat neurons, while dietary DHA increased LR11 in brains of rats or older mice that had been genetically altered to develop Alzheimer's disease," said Greg Cole, professor of medicine and neurology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and associate director of UCLA's Alzheimer Disease Research Centre.
The researchers confirmed the findings from animal studies were not limited to nonhuman animal cells.
As a result of the findings the National Institutes of Health is conducting a large-scale clinical trial with DHA in patients with established Alzheimer's disease.
Dr Cole said it still needs to be determined what the optimal dose should be.
"It could be that a smaller amount might be helpful, especially in a place like the south of France, where people are already on a Mediterranean diet," he added.