A diet rich in omega-3 fats may be key to preventing Alzheimer's disease
- The role of omega-3s
- 320 volunteers to study brain glucose metabolisation
- About Alzheimer's disease
- About the Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center and the Pasqual Maragall Foundation
A joint team from the Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center (BBRC), a research centre of the Pasqual Maragall Foundation, together with the Hospital del Mar Research Institute, has shown that regular consumption of foods rich in omega-3 fats, of both vegetable and marine origin, is related to a better ability of the brain to metabolise the glucose necessary for its functioning, even if the first damage related to Alzheimer's disease has already occurred.
The results of the study, recently published in the journal Alzheimer's and Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring, suggest that preventive nutritional interventions, especially during middle age, could help improve brain function and prevent Alzheimer's-associated dementia.
The role of omega-3s
Before the onset of clinical symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, specific areas of the brain already have difficulty metabolising glucose. "This is important because it is the organ of the body that uses it most", says Aleix Sala-Vila, author of the study, member of the Cardiovascular Risk and Nutrition Research Group at the Hospital del Mar Research Institute, and scientific collaborator of the BBRC.
Omega-3 fats contribute to the correct functioning of the receptors necessary for glucose uptake in the brain. These fats are incorporated into the cell membranes, thus facilitating the continued use of glucose. In this sense, says the researcher, "incorporating these omega-3s into the diet may be beneficial in terms of having a brain that is resistant to the changes that are occurring before the onset of Alzheimer's disease".
320 volunteers to study brain glucose metabolisation
The study, focused on exploring whether omega-3 intake is linked to improved glucose absorption in brain areas vulnerable to Alzheimer's disease, included data from 320 volunteers from the Alfa+ cohort, part of the Alfa cohort promoted by the "la Caixa" Foundation. This is a cognitively healthy population, without clinical symptoms of Alzheimer's, but mostly descended from people affected by the disease, and therefore with a high genetic risk of developing it. The volunteers were injected with glucose labelled with a tracer to check, by magnetic resonance imaging, how it was metabolised in different areas of the brain. The omega-3s in their blood were also quantified.
The results show that plant-based omega-3s (provided, for example, by foods such as walnuts or soya) were associated with better use of brain glucose, especially in participants at higher genetic risk (carriers of the APOE-e4 gene). On the other hand, omega-3s of marine origin (from oily fish) were more beneficial in people who, despite not showing symptoms of Alzheimer's, were already beginning to accumulate the characteristic proteins of the disease (amyloid and tau). Therefore, "it is suggested to maintain adequate levels of omega-3 in the blood to prevent the disease, especially in people at higher risk of developing dementia. This is achieved by incorporating foods such as walnuts and oily fish into the diet," concludes the researcher.
Bibliographic reference: Lázaro I, Grau-Rivera O, Suárez-Calvet M, et al. Omega-3 blood biomarkers relate to brain glucose uptake in individuals at risk of Alzheimer's disease dementia. Alzheimer's Dement. 2024; 16:e12596. https://doi.org/10.1002/dad2.12596
The work was funded by the California Walnut Commission.
About Alzheimer's disease
It is estimated that Alzheimer's disease and dementias currently affect 900,000 people in Spain, which translates into one in ten people over the age of 65 and a third of those over 85. These age-related pathologies are one of the main causes of mortality, disability and dependence. If effective care is not found, and with life expectancy on the rise, the number of cases could triple in the world by 2050, exceeding 1.5 million people in Spain alone, which could collapse health and care systems.
About the Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center and the Pasqual Maragall Foundation
The Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center (BBRC) is the research centre of the Pasqual Maragall Foundation, promoted by the "la Caixa" Foundation since its creation, dedicated to the prevention of Alzheimer's disease and the study of the cognitive functions affected in healthy and pathological ageing.
The Pasqual Maragall Foundation is a non-profit organisation that was set up in April 2008 in response to the commitment made by Pasqual Maragall, former Mayor of Barcelona and former President of the Government of Catalonia, when he publicly announced that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. The Foundation's mission is to promote research to prevent Alzheimer's disease and to offer solutions that improve the quality of life of those affected and their carers.
