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 (n, 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 (P = 0.02) |
|
| |||||
| [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. n = 102) | 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.