Tab. VIII.

Neurological implications of omega-3 fatty acids.

Neurological condition/function	Subjects	Study type	Supplements/ doses	Findings	Reference
Anxiety and inflammation	68 medical students under low-stress such as exams	Placebo-controlled, double-blind 12-week RCT	n-3 (2.5 g/day, 2085 mg eicosapentaenoic acid and 348 mg docosahexaenoic acid) or placebo	14% decrease in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated interleukin 6 production and 20% reduction in anxiety symptoms; lowered n-6:n-3 ratio and anxiety	[87]
Dementia	5386 patients without dementia	Prospective evaluation of incidence of dementia	Fatty-acid-rich fish	Fish intake decreased dementia	[88]
Cognitive function	867 elderly persons	Observational epidemiological	Oily fish containing long-chain PUFA	Fish consumption was positively associated with delayed unadjusted recall in CVLT	[89]
Parkinson’s disease	31 patients with major depression	Double-blind, placebo-controlled	Fish oil (containing omega-3 fatty acids) or mineral oil capsules for 3 months	Omega-3 enriched fish oil improved depression	[90]
Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia	49 controls, 25 AD and 15 VD	Cross-sectional	Excess intake of n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids	AD and VD associated with higher intake of n-6 animal fats	[91]