Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Early Prevention of Inflammatory Neurodegenerative Disease: A Focus on Alzheimer’s Disease

Table 4

Summary of DHA/EPA dietary intervention trials in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in the last 10 years.

Reference	Clinical trials with AD patients; (, mean age)	Dosage of DHA/EPA per day	Trial duration and design	Measures	Outcome
[20]	Mild to moderate AD (22, 81 yrs)	1 g ethyl-EPA or placebo	6 mths; 12 wks without treatment, followed by 12 wks with treatment	MMSE, ADAS-cog.	NS difference between treatment and baseline, small improvement in carer’s analogue rating ()
[16]	Patients with AD; (8, 67 yrs)	240 mg; DHA +; 240 mg AA or placebo	3 mths parallel design	Japanese version of RBANS (5 cognitive domains)	NS improvement seen postsupplementation
[21]	Mild AD patients; (178, 74 yrs)	1.72 g DHA + 600 mg EPA or placebo	6 mths; parallel design	MMSE,; ADAS-cog.	Positive effects of omega-3 supplementation seen only on patients with very mild AD
[15]	Mild to moderate AD; (23, 74 yrs)	0.72 g DHA + 1.08 g EPA or placebo	6 mths, randomized double blinded placebo controlled trial	ADAS-cog.; CIBIC-plus	NS difference seen between placebo and omega-3 supplemented group
[22]	AD patients on acetylcholine esterase treatment; (204, 74 yrs)	1.72 g DHA + 600 mg EPA or placebo	6 mths parallel + 6 mths cross-over to fish oil	DAD, CGB, MADRAS, NPI	NS effect between omega-3 supplemented placebo group on neuropsychiatric symptoms, positive effect on depressive symptoms
[23]	Mild to moderate AD (295, 76 yrs)	2 g DHA or placebo	18 months, randomized double blinded placebo controlled trial	ADAS-cog, CDR, MMSE; (brain MRI in sub pop. )	NS difference in rate of cognitive and functional decline, no effect on total brain volume

AA = arachidonic acid; DHA = docosahexaenoic acid; EPA = eicosapentaenoic acid; DAD = Disability Assessment for Dementia Scale; CGB = Caregiver Burden Scale; MADRS = Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale; NPI = Neuropsychiatric Inventory; MMSE = Minimental State Examination; ADAS-cog. = Cognitive Portion of the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale; CIBIC plus = Clinician’s Interview-Based Impression of Change Scale; RBANS = Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status; NS = Nonsignificant; MRI = Magnetic Resonance Imaging; CDR = Clinical Dementia Rating.