Fish oil

Daily fish oil boosts memory function in older adults

Daily fish oil boosts memory function in older adults

Researchers at Rhode Island Hospital’s Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory Disorders Center have found positive associations between fish oil supplements and cognitive functioning as well as differences in brain structure between users and non-users of fish oil supplements. The findings suggest possible benefits of fish oil supplements on brain health and aging.

The results were reported at the recent International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease, in Paris, France.

The study was led by Lori Daiello, PharmD, a research scientist at the Rhode Island Hospital Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory Disorders Center. Data for the analyses was obtained from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), a large multi-center, NIH-funded study that followed older adults with normal cognition, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer’s Disease for over three years with periodic memory testing and brain MRIs.

The study included 819 individuals, 117 of whom reported regular use of fish oil supplements before entry and during study follow-up. The researchers compared cognitive functioning and brain atrophy for patients who reported routinely using these supplements to those who were not using fish oil supplements.

Daiello reports that compared to non-users, use of fish oil supplements was associated with better cognitive functioning during the study. However, this association was significant only in those individuals who had a normal baseline cognitive function and in individuals who tested negative for a genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s Disease known as APOE4. This is consistent with previous research.

The unique finding, however, is that there was a clear association between fish oil supplements and brain volume. Consistent with the cognitive outcomes, these observations were significant only for those who were APOE4 negative.
Daiello says, “In the imaging analyses for the entire study population, we found a significant positive association between fish oil supplement use and average brain volumes in two critical areas utilized in memory and thinking (cerebral cortex and hippocampus), as well as smaller brain ventricular volumes compared to non-users at any given time in the study. In other words, fish oil use was associated with less brain shrinkage in patients taking these supplements during the ADNI study compared to those who didn’t report using them.”

Daiello continues, “These observations should motivate further study of the possible effects of long-term fish oil supplementation on important markers of cognitive decline and the potential influence of genetics on these outcomes.”

Source: science daily

Daily Fish Oil Supplement May Not Help Your Heart

People who take fish oil capsules may not be getting the heart-health benefits they desired, according to a pair of new research reports.

Both studies found that the omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil supplements do not provide any significant protection against heart disease, when compared to other types of dietary fats.

“Looking at the 17 randomized clinical trials that we combined, the majority of the trials — especially the more recent and large-scale ones — showed consistently little or no significant effect on reducing coronary heart disease events,” said Dr. Rajiv Chowdhury, lead author of a comprehensive review of nutrition research related to fats.

Of the range of fats studied, only trans fats showed a clear negative effect on heart health, according to the review published in the March 18 Annals of Internal Medicine by Chowdhury, a cardiovascular epidemiologist at the University of Cambridge, and colleagues.

Trans fats can still be found in processed foods — look for the words “hydrogenated” or “partially hydrogenated” in the ingredient list.

Saturated fats, long considered a dietary no-no, appeared to pose no additional risk for heart disease according to recent research, Chowdhury said. They carried about the same cardiac risk as unsaturated fats, omega-3 fatty acids and omega-6 fatty acids.

Saturated fats are solid at room temperature. They can be found in butter, lard, cheese and cream, as well as the fatty white areas on cuts of meat. By contrast, unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature — think of vegetable cooking oil or olive oil.

A second study also came to the same conclusion regarding omega-3 fatty acids, via a different route. This study had been reviewing the use of omega-3s for eye health, but researchers used their data to look at whether the supplements also helped prevent heart disease.

That study found no reduction in heart attack, stroke or heart failure among almost 1,100 people taking omega-3 supplements, compared to similar numbers of people taking other supplements for eye health or just an inactive placebo. It appeared online March 17 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

The meta-analysis performed by Chowdhury’s team involved data from 72 studies with more than 600,000 participants from 18 nations. The team combined study findings to assess the heart health benefits of all types of dietary fat — saturated fat, unsaturated fat, and the omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.

Until now, doctors have said that saturated fats increase “bad” LDL cholesterol, which can cause plaques to form in your arteries and raise your risk of a heart attack or stroke.

At the same time, omega-3 fatty acids were said to improve heart health because it increases your level of “good” HDL cholesterol. Good cholesterol is believed to help the body rid itself of bad cholesterol.

Source: web md

Fish oil ‘cures’ brain damaged kid

A teenager, who had severe brain damage after a brutal hit-and-run has made miraculous recovery due to consumption of fish oil.

Grant Virgin, who suffered from a torn aorta, a traumatic brain injury, compound bone fractures and spinal fracture after being struck by a car, was told by the doctors that he wouldn’t be alive by next morning, News.com.au reported.

However, the boy’s family vowed to save their kid, who underwent multiple surgeries remained in a coma with severe brain damage, and rubbed progesterone cream on their son, and soon saw him waking up and speaking simple words and phrases.

The Virgins thought about giving their son fish oil, after learning that the brain’s cell wall is partly comprised of the same omega-3 fatty acids, and put him on a regimen of 20-gram-per-day.

The teenager is still a long way from making a full recovery, but the family claimed that he is progressing by the day.

Source: Business standard

Fish oil could help alcohol abusers keep dementia at bay

A new research has suggested that omega-3 fish oil may help protect against alcohol-related dementia.

The study, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, found that in the brain cells of rats exposed to high levels of alcohol, a fish oil compound protected against inflammation and cell death.

In the study, Michael A. Collins, PhD, and colleagues exposed cultures of adult rat brain cells to amounts of alcohol equivalent to more than four times the legal limit for driving.

These cell cultures were compared with cultures of brain cells exposed to the same high levels of alcohol, plus a compound found in fish oil called omega-3 docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).

Researchers found there was about 90 percent less neuro inflammation and neuronal death in the brain cells exposed to DHA and alcohol than in the cells exposed to alcohol alone.