Findings from an 18-month, government-backed study suggest taking supplements of docosahexenoic acid, or DHA, which is an omega-3 fatty acid, does little to slow the advancement of Alzheimer's disease in those who have already developed it.
Dr. Joseph Quinn of Oregon Health and Sciences University in Portland, who led the study, said in a statement, "These trial results do not support the routine use of DHA for patients with Alzheimer's."
Studies in both mice and people had suggested that a diet high in DHA could dramatically slow Alzheimer's disease. However, in the Alzheimer's study supported by the National Institute on Aging, Quinn and fellow researchers compared DHA supplements to a placebo in 402 people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's. The team saw no changes after using two widely accepted Alzheimer's tests.
However, a six-month Martek Biosciences company study that looked at people whose memory was just a bit affected, not necessarily Alzheimer's patients, found Martek DHA supplements helped restore some degree of lost mental acuity.
Martek researcher Karin Yurko-Mauro said in a telephone interview, "The benefit is roughly equivalent to having the learning and memory skills of someone three years younger."
Martek DHA supplements were used in the other study, as well. What this seems to indicate is that perhaps DHA supplements given prior to buildup of sticky amyloid plaques in Alzheimer's may help arrest the disease.
Both studies are being presented at an international Alzheimer's Association meeting in Vienna, Austria.
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