Omega-3 Fatty Acid (DHA) May Protect Against Parkinson’s Disease

/>According to an animal study recently published in the online edition of the FASEB Journal, a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acid supplementation may protect against Parkinson’s disease, degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that affects motor skills and speech.

The researchers observed that when mice were fed an omega-3 rich diet, they seemed immune to the effect of MPTP, a toxic compound that causes the same damage to the brain as Parkinson’s. “This compound, which has been used for more than 20 years in Parkinson’s research, works faster than the disease itself and is just as effective in targeting and destroying the dopamine-producing neurons in the brain,” points out Calon.

By contrast, another group of mice that were fed an ordinary diet developed the characteristic symptoms of the disease when injected with MPTP, including a 31% drop in dopamine-producing neurons and a 50% decrease in dopamine levels.

Analyses revealed that omega-3 fatty acids – in particular DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), a specific type of omega-3 – had replaced the omega-6 fatty acids already present in the brains of the mice that had been given omega-3 supplementation.

Read more here.