Austria – According to two studies presented at the International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease in Vienna, omega-3 improves the memory of healthy adults, but not that of people with Alzheimer’s disease.

The first study was conducted by the National Institute on Aging (Bethesda, USA). For eighteen months, the team of Dr. Quinn gave an additional 200mg of DHA, an omega-3 fatty acid, or placebo to 402 participants aged 76 years on average and probably suffering from the disease of Alzheimer’s disease.

The results show that the decline in mental function is not controlled by the DHA. Omega-3 do not preserve the memory of these patients.

The second study called MIDAS was conducted by researchers at Martek Biosciences, a company producing omega-3 to food markets and food supplements. The 485 participants received a daily dose of 900mg of omega-3 DHA, or placebo daily for six months.

The patients average age 70 years presented mild memory disorders. The results are positive because the memory tests performed by the participants after the study were better than those achieved before the study. Dr. Yurko-Mauro added that six months of supplementation with omega-3 would return the memory capacities of someone three years younger.

Both studies suggest that treatment against Alzheimer’s disease must be given as soon as possible to be truly effective and prevent the loss of memory functions.