Piomelli added that the results point to new diagnostic and dietary approaches to Alzheimer's: Specific blood lipid profile tests might identify at-risk persons, and dietary supplements with a chemically enhanced form of DHA may benefit early-stage patients. "Additionally, we found that the greater the amount of Alzheimer's-related cognitive problems experienced in life by the patients, the lower were their liver DHA levels," Astarita said.
Omega-3 fatty acids are also part of a healthy diet that helps lower risk of heart disease. It is essential for the proper functioning of adult human brains and for the development of our nervous system and vision during the first six months of life. 8 in the open-access, peer-reviewed journal PLoS ONE.ĭHA occurs naturally in cold-water fatty fish and seaweed. "They also suggest a reason why clinical trials in which Alzheimer's patients are given omega-3 fatty acids to improve cognitive skills have had mixed results." "We all know Alzheimer's is a brain disease, but our findings - which were totally unexpected - show that a problem with liver fat metabolism can make people more vulnerable," Piomelli said. Non-Alzheimer's livers did not have this defect, said Daniele Piomelli, the Louise Turner Arnold Chair in the Neurosciences and director of the Center for Drug Discovery at UCI, who led the research with Giuseppe Astarita, project scientist in pharmacology. Previous studies have shown that most brain DHA is manufactured in the liver. In postmortem liver tissue from Alzheimer's patients, the UCI team found a defect in the organ's ability to make DHA from shorter molecules present in leafy plants and other foods. Low levels of docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA, have been associated with the chronic neurodegenerative disease affecting millions of Americans, but no cause had been identified.
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