Researchers Claim Omega-3 Fatty Acids Protect Brain
from Parkinson's
Protection may come from DHA omega-3 eating up
dangerous omega-6 fatty acid in brain
Nov.
26, 2007 – A new study claims to be the first evidence that omega-3
fatty acids protect the brain from Parkinson's disease. Researchers say
the omega-3 fatty acids - in particular DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), a
specific type of omega-3 - replaced the omega-6 fatty acids already
present in the brains of mice in their study. A brain with a lot of
omega-6 fatty acids may be a fertile ground for Parkinson’s disease,
they write.
Parkinson’s disease is caused by the progressive
death of the neurons responsible for producing dopamine, a
neurotransmitter closely linked with movement control. The disease is
usually diagnosed when 50 to 80% of these neurons are already dead, and
there is currently no medication to stop that process.
The Université Laval (Quebec City) research team’s
findings could help prevent the disease and, potentially, slow down its
progression. The study, supervised by Frederic Calon and Francesca
Cicchetti, is published in the online edition of the FASEB Journal, the
journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental
Biology..
The researchers observed that when mice were fed an
omega-3 rich diet, they seemed immune to the effect of MPTP, a toxic
compound that causes the same damage to the brain as Parkinson’s. “This
compound, which has been used for more than 20 years in Parkinson’s
research, works faster than the disease itself and is just as effective
in targeting and destroying the dopamine-producing neurons in the
brain,” points out Calon.
By contrast, another group of mice that were fed an
ordinary diet developed the characteristic symptoms of the disease when
injected with MPTP, including a 31% drop in dopamine-producing neurons
and a 50% decrease in dopamine levels.
Analyses revealed that the DHA (docosahexaenoic
acid), a specific type of omega-3, had replaced the omega-6 fatty acids
already present in the brains of the mice that had been given omega-3
supplementation.
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About Parkinson’s Disease |
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According to the National Parkinson
Foundation, 1.5 million Americans currently have the
degenerative illness, which strikes men and women in roughly
equal numbers, usually after the age of 65.
This chronic, progressive nerve
disorder is characterized by a steady loss in brain cells
producing the neurotransmitter dopamine, which alters the
function of brain networks controlling motor function.
Medications, as well as surgical techniques such as deep-brain
stimulation, can treat some of the symptoms of the progressive
disease, but there is no known cure.
Click for more at NPF |
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“This demonstrates both the importance of diet on
the brain’s fatty acid composition and the brain’s natural inclination
for omega-3 fatty acids,” observes Calon. Since concentrations of other
types of omega-3’s had remained similar in both groups of mice,
researchers suggest that the protective effect against Parkinson’s comes
essentially from DHA.
Another conclusion to be drawn from this finding is
that a brain containing a lot of omega-6 fatty acids may be a fertile
ground for Parkinson’s disease. These fatty acids, abundant in foods
rich in either vegetable oil or animal fat, are already under suspicion
for their role in the body’s inflammatory response, cardiac disease,
arthritis, and Alzheimer’s.
In a balanced diet, the ratio between omega-6 and
omega-3 fatty acids should be 4 to 1. However, the average Western diet
contains 10 to 20 times more omega-6’s than omega-3’s.
“In North America, the average intake of DHA is
between 60 to 80 mg a day, while experts recommend a daily minimum of
250 mg,” explains Calon.
“Our results suggest that this DHA deficiency is a
risk factor for developing Parkinson’s disease, and that we would
benefit from evaluating omega-3’s potential for preventing and treating
this disease in humans,” concludes the researcher.
Editor's Notes
In addition to Calon and Cicchetti, the study was
co-authored by Mélanie Bousquet, Carl Julien, and Martine Saint-Pierre
from Université Laval, and by Norman Salem Jr. from the National
Institutes of Health.
Print version of the article will be published in
the April 2008 edition of the FASEB Journal.
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news reports about Parkinson's Disease
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