Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Repurposing Opportunities for Cognition and Biobehavioral Disturbances in MCI and Dementia
2016
Neurodegenerative diseases may directly affect memory performance, thus leading to functional
impairments. An increasing body of evidence suggests an association between dietary intake of omega-3 fatty
acids and memory functioning in animal models as well as in human studies. Recent evidence supports a potential
beneficial role of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation on psychopathological and cognitive symptoms,
beside their established positive effects on cardiovascular health.
Objective: We summarize relevant and recent evidence from epidemiological, interventional and experimental
studies investigating dietary consumption of omega-3 fatty acids and emphazing mechanisms of memory disorders,
with a focus on mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia. Omega-3 fatty acid could represent an
affordable and accessible adjunctive treatment option to improve cognitive and non-cognitive function with a
focus on MCI or dementia. However, apart from its translational promise, which is based on mechanistic models
and evidence from animal studies, evidence for clinical benefits in humans is lacking.
Method: To follow this research question, a search through electronic databases for the following search terms
to identify relevant studies was conducted: ‘omega 3 fatty acids’, ‘cognition’, ‘memory’, ´Alzheimer´s Disease
´, ´dementia´, ´MCI`. Studies were included if they presented original data and were published in English
between 1990 and 2015.
Results: To our the best of our knowledge, there are only 8 interventional studies that investigated the effects
of n3-PUFAs in dementia patients, while 6 studies were conducted in healthy individuals, which in combination
show equivocal results.
Conclusion: This verifies the need for larger and (more) well designed clinical trials.
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