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New Study Supports Evidence of Adding Fatty Acid to
Diet May Protect Against Alzheimer's Disease
By Tucker Sutherland, editor
Sept. 1, 2004 There is nothing more feared by
senior citizens than Alzheimers Disease and the evidence continues to
mount that by adding fish to your diet you may be able to avoid the
disease. A new study released today takes a closer look at how this
protection works. (See links to other stories on fatty acid below
story.)
A study released last July said that if senior
citizens 65 and older eat fish once a week they will have a 60
percent lower risk of Alzheimers Disease than those who seldom eat
fish. A similar study last year in France showed people 68 and over who
ate fish once a week had a much greater chance of avoiding all types of
dementia. Other studies have also shown this dietary supplement also protects
against heart disease
It is the dietary supplements of omega-3
polyunsaturated fatty acids which seem to protect against Alzheimer's
disease (AD). However, very little is known about how this protection
might arise and whether such supplements might really help Alzheimer's
patients or those at genetic risk for the disease.
"This is the first proof that our diets affect how
our brain cells communicate with each other under the duress of
Alzheimer's disease," explained Greg Cole, Ph.D., senior author and a
professor of neurology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
"We saw that a diet rich in DHA, or docosahexaenoic acid, dramatically
reduces the impact of the Alzheimer's gene.
"Consuming more DHA is something the average person
can easily control," added Cole, associate director of the UCLA
Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. "Anyone can buy DHA in its purified
form, fish-oil capsules, high-fat fish or DHA-supplemented eggs."
Cole and his colleagues focused on Alzheimer's
damage to synapses the chemical connections between brain cells that
enable memory and learning.
By using mice bred with genetic mutations that
cause the brain lesions linked to advanced Alzheimer's disease, the UCLA
researchers created a mouse model to test environmental risk factors for
the disorder. When the mice developed the lesions, but showed minimal
memory loss or synaptic brain damage, however, the scientists took a
closer look at the animals' diet.
"We discovered that the mice lived on a nutritious
diet of soy and fish two ingredients chock-full of omega-3 fatty
acids," said Sally Frautschy, Ph.D., co-author and an associate
professor of neurology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
"Because earlier studies suggest that omega-3 fatty
acids may prevent Alzheimer's disease, we realized that the mice's diet
could be countering the very thing we were trying to accomplish
showing the progression of the Alzheimer's-related brain damage," she
added
The UCLA team swapped safflower oil for the soy and
fish to create an unhealthful diet depleted of omega-3 fatty acids. They
divided the animals into two sets of older mice, which already showed
brain lesions but displayed no major loss of brain-cell activity. The
researchers placed both groups on the new diet, but fed the second group
DHA supplements from algae.
After five months, the researchers compared each
set of mice to a control group that consumed the same diet but did not
carry the Alzheimer's genes. The results surprised them.
"We found high amounts of synaptic damage in the
brains of the Alzheimer's-diseased mice that ate the DHA-depleted diet,"
observed Frautschy. "These changes closely resembled those we see in the
brains of people with Alzheimer's disease."
Although the mice on the DHA-supplemented diet also
carried the Alzheimer's genes, they still performed much better in
memory testing than the mice in the first group.
"After adjusting for all possible variables, DHA
was the only factor remaining that protected the mice against the
synaptic damage and memory loss that should have resulted from their
Alzheimer's genes," said Cole. "We concluded that the DHA-enriched diet
was holding their genetic disease at bay."
Frautschy and Cole plan to parlay their findings
into a new study focused on tracking DHA-related biomarkers in the urine
and cerebral spinal fluid of Alzheimer's disease patients. "If we can
detect biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease earlier, we can intervene with
treatment sooner," noted Cole.
The human brain absorbs DHA rapidly, making a
constant supply critical for proper cognitive function, eye development
and mental tasks. DHA helps keep the brain membrane fluid, moves
proteins and helps to convert signals from other parts of the body into
action.
Cheap sources of DHA include coldwater fish, like
salmon, halibut, mackerel, sardines and herring. These fish consume
algae, which is high in DHA.
Because these fishes' oiliness makes them absorb
more mercury, dioxin, PCP and other metals, however, a less risky yet
more costly strategy is to consume fish oil or purified DHA supplements
made from algae. Other options include DHA-rich eggs laid by chickens
that eat DHA-supplemented feed.
Links to other SeniorJournal.com stories on fatty
acids
US Agency Confirms Fish Oil Helps Fight Heart Disease
...
The systematic reviews of the available literature found evidence that
long chain
omega-3 fatty acids, the beneficial
component ingested by eating fish or ...
www.seniorjournal.com/NEWS/ Nutrition-Vitamins/4-04-23fishoil.htm
Omega-3 Fatty Acides from Fish Oil Pills Protect From Hearth ...
...
Back to Nutrition/Vitamins or Front Page. Omega-3 Fatty
Acids. Fish Oil
Pills Protect from Heart Disease, Says Consumer Reports. ...
www.seniorjournal.com/NEWS/ Nutrition-Vitamins/3-06-19fishoil.htm
Fish Oil Fights Sudden Death Heart Attacks
...
That study found that 1 gram daily of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty
acids (PUFA) - found
in fish oil and known also as omega-3 fatty
acids - significantly reduced ...
www.seniorjournal.com/NEWS/ Nutrition-Vitamins/04-14-02FishOil.htm
Eat Fish to Prevent Alzheimer's Says Two Studies
...
She said some participants in the latest study also saw a decreased risk
of Alzheimer's
from eating omega-3 fatty acids found in
vegetables and nuts. ...
www.seniorjournal.com/NEWS/ Alzheimer's/3-07-22eatfish.htm
Anti-Aging Products Can Be Dangerous, Says Gov. Report
...
and valerian, and specialty supplements such as chondroitin, coenzyme
Q10,
dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), glucosamine, melatonin, omega-3
fatty acids (fish ...
www.seniorjournal.com/NEWS/ Nutrition-Vitamins/2-06-04AntiAgProducts.htm
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