Protection Against Alzheimer’s
A recent study released in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease shows that a combo of omega-3 fatty acids and alpha lipoic acid may help put the brakes on Alzheimer’s. The study, conducted at the Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon included 32 patients with Alzheimer’s. Researchers studied the effects of supplementation with omega-3 fatty acid with and without lipoic acid over a year of treatment.
To measure the effects of the supplements, researchers analyzed oxidative stress biomarkers, including F2-isoprostane levels. They also measured the subjects’ performance on “Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Activities of Daily Living/Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (ADL/IADL), and Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale-cognitive subscale (ADAS-cog).” They found that the two supplements did indeed help subjects. “The combination of omega-3 and lipoic acid slowed cognitive and functional decline in Alzheimer’s disease over 12 months,” the authors wrote.
Additionally, Antonietta Fava from the University of Catanzaro in Italy and her team conducted a trial that found that Alzheimer’s patients with insulin resistance taking 600 mg of lipoic acid per day retained better cognitive function than those who didn’t take the supplement. This study was published in the Journal of Neurodegenerative Diseases. Researchers gave 126 Alzheimer’s patients either 600 mg of lipoic acid or a placebo each day. They evaluated cognitive function at the beginning and end of the study. They found that scores from “mini-mental state examinations” showed a significant improvement in 43 percent of patients who took lipoic acid supplements, compared to only 23 percent of controls. Patients who took the acid also had better scores on the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale/cognitive, the Clinician’s Interview-Based Impression of Severity, and on the Alzheimer’s Disease Functional and Change Scale than subjects who did not take the acid.
