How Fatty Acids Help Dementia

Fatty acids help to form the phospholipids in the brain, which are vital for cell signalling. Cell signalling is important for brain function, the degeneration of which is the primary symptom of dementia.

Without enough fatty acids, communication between our cells ceases to operate properly and this can have an adverse effect on brain function. Conversely, with fatty acid supplementation, cell signalling has been shown to improve.

The Volumetric Niacin Response (VNR) is a special test that measures cell signalling and brain function. In 2005 Professor Puri carried out a trial on a small number of patients with advanced Alzheimer’s disease. He measured their VNR at the beginning of the six-month trial and again at the end of it. In the intervening time, half the patients were given VegEPA and the other half were given a placebo (a dummy supplement with no medicinal properties). The trial was double-blind so neither the patients nor Professor Puri knew who was being given VegEPA and who was being given the placebo.

The key findings were as follows: cell signalling continued to deteriorate in those Alzheimer’s patients who were taking the placebo. Over the same period, however, those patients taking VegEPA actually showed an improvement in their volumetric niacin response and therefore improved cell signalling in the body and brain.

Professor Puri, Professor Vaddadi, and colleagues also carried out trials into the effects of fatty acid supplementation on patients with Huntington’s chorea. Again improvements were seen in terms of the amount of brain tissue present as well as motor function after supplementation wtih fatty acids compared with the placebo.