Fatty acids clue to Alzheimer's

Controlling the level of a fatty acid in the brain could help treat Alzheimer's disease. Tests on mice showed that reducing excess levels of arachidonic acid lessened animals' memory problems and behavioral changes. Writing in Nature Neuroscience, the team said fatty acid levels could be controlled through diet.

Researchers looked at fatty acids in the brains of normal mice and compared them with those in mice genetically engineered to have an Alzheimer's-like condition. They identified raised levels of arachidonic acid in the brains of the Alzheimer's mice. Its release is controlled by the PLA2 enzyme. The scientists again used genetic engineering to lower PLA2 levels in the animals, and found that even a partial reduction halted memory deterioration and other impairments.

In short, too much arachidonic acid might over-stimulate brain cells, and lowering levels allowed them to function normally.

Steve - keep in mind that this is only a mouse study. We rarely ever post non-human subject studies. HOWEVER! This study is incredibly important because it connects Alzheimer's directly to diet and inflammation. Arachidonic Acid is saturated omega-6 fatty acid. How long have we said that omega-6 fatty acids cause inflammation while omega-3 fatty acids reduce inflammation? How long have we said that in most of the human population, the omega-6 to omega-3 ratios are highly skewed to our detriment (20:1 instead of 2 or 3:1)?

Foods High in Arachidonic Acid:

• Red Meat

• Organ Meats

• Dairy

• Egg Yolks

Why are these foods so high in AA? Because conventional livestock are fed grains that cause them to produce large amounts of omega-6 (corn and soy). When livestock are fed a genetically compatible diet (i.e. grass-fed beef, flax fed chickens), the omega-6 to omega-3 ratios are ideally balanced.

Additionally, Linoleic Acids are UNsaturated omega-6 fatty acids. While they are not implicated in this study, they do exacerbate the huge disparity in omega-6 to omega-3 ratios. Examples are:

• Safflower oil

• Sunflower oil

• Corn oil

• Soybean oil

We do not need human studies to confirm the terrible effect high omega-6 to omega-3 ratios have on humans. Let's make this an integral part of Alzheimer's awareness.