Certain Fats Good, Antioxidants Questionable in FightAgainst Alzheimer's

Certain Fats Good, Antioxidants Questionable in Fight Against Alzheimer's

CHICAGO--In two studies funded by the government's National Institute on Aging and appearing in the February Archives of Neurology (http://archneur.ama-assn.org), the link between diet and Alzheimer's disease was studied--in particular, the intake of dietary fat and antioxidants. Researchers, led by Martha Clare Morris, ScD, from the Chicago-based Rush Institute for Healthy Aging, investigated the outcomes of 815 men and women 65 years and older who were free from Alzheimer's at baseline (60:194-200, 2003). In a 3.9-year follow-up, 131 people had developed the disease.

After evaluating food-frequency questionnaires, saturated fat and trans-unsaturated fat were linked with an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease; those taking in the most saturated fat had a 2.2-times higher risk of Alzheimer's compared to those with the lowest intake. Conversely, omega-6 polyunsaturated fat and monounsaturated fat were found to decrease this risk. The researchers also found that total fat, animal fat and dietary cholesterol did not appear to be associated with the development of Alzheimer's.

In the second study, antioxidants were not found to impact the disease's development (60:203-8, 2003). Researchers, led by Jose Luchsinger, M.D., from Columbia University, New York, followed 980 elderly subjects who did not have Alzheimer's at baseline. In the 242 who developed the disease four years later, responses from food-frequency questionnaires indicated carotenes, vitamin C and vitamin E were not related to a decreased risk for Alzheimer's.

According to Bill Thies, head of medical and scientific affairs at the Alzheimer's Association (www.alz.org), the research on dietary fat and Alzheimer's "reinforces previous research showing that what is good for the heart is good for the head." In terms of the antioxidant study, Thies said, "This large-scale study is at variance with earlier indications that these supplements are effective as treatment for Alzheimer's. This tells us that more work needs to be done before we completely understand the value of these agents. Antioxidants taken earlier in life may still prove to have some preventive benefit, consistent with earlier observational studies."

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