subject: Omega-3 supplements fail to reduce Alzheimer's symptoms [print this page] However, among patients taking omega-3 supplements who did not have a particular gene mutation called apolipoprotein (apo) E4, which increases the risk and accelerates the onset of Alzheimer's disease, there was slightly less cognitive decline. This finding is preliminary and needs to be confirmed, the authors said.
It's also possible, but unproven, that taking supplements long before symptoms appear might slow progression of the disease.
"We have a very solid but a very negative result," said the lead author of the study, Dr. Joseph F. Quinn, during a news conference Tuesday in Washington, D.C. Quinn is from Oregon Health and Sciences University and Portland VA Medical Center.
But, he said, evidence has emerged that the symptoms of the disease appear many years after the disease process -- such as the accumulation of amyloid plaques in the brain -- has begun.
"If amyloid is the target," he said, "the intervention really needs to be very early."
In an editorial accompanying the study, Dr. Kristine Yaffe noted that progress had been made in identifying the molecular and genetic characteristics of Alzheimer's disease and in diagnostic techniques. "On the other hand," she wrote, "little improvement has occurred in the basic care of patients with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias."
Omega-3 supplements fail to reduce Alzheimer's symptoms
