According to a study published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Omega-3 fat docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) dietary supplements, commonly sold as fish oil capsules, do not slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
Earlier test studies suggested that a fish-rich diet might help lower the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Animal studies of the substance also showed that it might reduce some of the pathological brain changes caused by Alzheimer’s.
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive, incurable and fatal brain disease affecting over 5.3 million Americans. The degenerative condition destroys brain cells, causing memory loss and problems affecting all aspects of life.
The researchers hoped to validate findings that Omega-3 would be a benefit to Alzheimer’s suffers, but instead found no evidence that DHA supplements provided any help at all.
We have a very solid but a very negative result,” said Dr. Joseph Quinn of Oregon Health and Science University, who led the study.
The 18-month randomized trial among 402 mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s patients found that patients taking DHA experienced the same rates of cognitive and functional decline as those on a placebo, reported Quinn and colleagues.
There was also no difference in the rate of change of dementia, and MRI tests showed no difference between the groups on decline in total brain volume.
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