CHICAGO — Omega-3 pills promoted as boosting memory didn’t slow mental and physical decline in older patients with Alzheimer’s disease, a big disappointment in a multimillion-dollar government-funded study.
“We had high hopes that we’d see some efficacy but we did not,” said Dr. Joseph Quinn, an author of the $10 million study and a researcher at Oregon Health and Science University.
The results with pills containing DHA, an omega-3 fatty acid, highlight “the continued frustration over lack of effective interventions” for the memory-robbing disease, an editorial said, published with the study in Wednesday’s Journal of the American Medical Association.
DHA occurs naturally in the brain and is found in reduced amounts in people with Alzheimer’s disease.
Some smaller, less rigorous studies suggested that mental decline could be slowed or prevented by eating fish, the main dietary source for omega-3 fatty acids, or supplements such as fish oil pills that contain fatty acids including DHA. The study used capsules of DHA oil derived from algae.
Omega-3 fatty acids in fish or supplements have been shown to help protect against heart disease and are being studied for possible effects on a range of other illnesses including cancer and depression.
