Alzheimer's slowed by DHA omega-3

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Omega-3 DHA could increase the production of a protein key to the

clearance of enzymes in the brain that make the beta amyloid plaques

that cause Alzheimer's disease.

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link:

http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/news/ng.asp?n=82787 & m=1NIU125 & c=lqeudkujayvv\

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text:

Late-onset Alzheimer's slowed by DHA omega-3

By ls

1/25/2008- Supplements of the omega-3 docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) can

reduce levels an enzyme linked to Alzheimer's disease, suggests a new

study from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Using both mice and cultured human cells the UCLA researchers report

that DHA could increase the production of LR11, a protein key to the

clearance of enzymes in the brain that make the beta amyloid plaques

that are thought to cause Alzheimer's disease.

" In this study, we report that DHA significantly increases LR11 in

multiple systems, including primary rat neurons, aged non-Tg mice and

an aged DHA-depleted APPsw AD mouse model. DHA also increased LR11 in

a human neuronal line, " wrote lead author Qiu-Lan Ma in the The

Journal of Neuroscience.

The research adds to a growing body of science linking intake of the

omega-3 fatty acids, mainly DHA, to improved cognitive function and

slower cognitive decline.

Indeed, previous studies have reported that omega-3 fatty acids may

slow mental decline in people with very mild Alzheimer's disease

(Archives of Neurology, Vol. 63, pp. 1402-1408 and pp. 1545-1550).

Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia and currently

affects over 13 million people worldwide. The direct and indirect cost

of Alzheimer care is over $100 bn (€ 81 bn) in the US alone. The

direct cost of Alzheimer care in the UK was estimated at £15 bn (€ 22 bn).

The new study suggests that DHA may be most useful for early

intervention and prevention of late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD),

the most common form of the disease that occurs later in life and has

no obvious family inheritance pattern.

Ma and co-workers report that DHA induced increases in LR11 in all the

systems studied, as well as from an in vivo model of type-2 diabetes,

another AD risk factor.

" Because reduced LR11 is known to increase beta-amyloid production and

may be a significant genetic cause of LOAD, our results indicate that

DHA increases in [LR11] levels may play an important role in

preventing LOAD, " concluded the authors.

The data was welcomed by Dr. , vice president of medical

research for Martek, who provided the vegetarian DHA used in the study.

" This study adds to the evidence supporting the important brain health

benefits provided by an enhanced DHA status, and there are a number of

ongoing studies investigating the role of DHA in reducing the risk for

neurological diseases like Alzheimer's, " said .

Study in this area is ongoing with a National Institutes of Health-

funded multi-million dollar clinical study on DHA in the progression

of Alzheimer's disease. Results from this NIH clinical study will be

available in 2010.

The new results build on an earlier pre-clinical study using

genetically modified mice, reported to be the first study to show that

DHA may slow the accumulation of a protein, tau, that leads to the

development of neurofibrillary tangles, one of two signature brain

injuries of Alzheimer's disease (Journal of Neuroscience, Vol. 27, No.

16).

Source: The Journal of Neuroscience

26 December 2007, Volume 27, Issue 52, Pages 14299-14307,

doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3593-07.2007

" Omega-3 Fatty Acid Docosahexaenoic Acid Increases SorLA/LR11, a

Sorting Protein with Reduced Expression in Sporadic Alzheimer's

Disease (AD): Relevance to AD Prevention "

Authors: Qiu-Lan Ma, B. Teter, O.J. Ubeda, T. Morihara, D. Dhoot, M.D.

Nyby, M.L. Tuck, S.A. Frautschy, G.M. Cole