Omega-3 benefits Alzheimer's patients

Fish oil supplements could help Alzheimer's patients maintain a healthy weight. People begin losing weight in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease and get thinner as the disease progresses. Several factors including inflammation, dulling of taste and smell, and the roaming and fidgeting characteristic of the disease, may cause people with Alzheimer's to burn more calories. Given that people with Alzheimer's disease have low levels of omega-3 fatty acids that drop further as the disease progresses, researchers from America investigated whether supplementing with these nutrients might improve weight and appetite. The researchers randomly assigned 204 people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's to 0.7 grams of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and 0.6 grams of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) or a placebo for 6 months, after which both groups took the supplements for an additional 6 months. At the study's outset, patients weighed 70 kilograms on an average. Six months later, those who took omega-3 fatty acids supplements gained 0.7 kilograms, but the placebo group's average weight was unchanged. After 1 year, the men and women who had been on omega-3 fatty acids for the full 12 months had gained 1.4 kg. The placebo group also gained a moderate amount of weight after being switched to omega-3 fatty acids. Moreover, Omega-3 fatty acids improved appetite as rated by caregivers in both groups. Though the difference in weight gain between the two groups did not reach statistical significance, the finding that weight gain rose in tandem with blood levels of DHA supports the benefit of the supplements for maintaining weight.

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