Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Early Prevention of Inflammatory Neurodegenerative Disease: A Focus on Alzheimer’s Disease

Table 3

Summary of DHA/EPA dietary intervention trials in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in the last 10 years.

Reference	Clinical trials with MCI patients; (, mean age)	Dosage of DHA/EPA per day	Trial duration and design	Measures	Outcome
[15]	Patients with MCI; (23, 74 yrs)	0.72 g DHA + 1.08 g EPA or placebo	6 mths; randomized double-blinded placebo-controlled trials	ADAS-cog.; CIBIC plus	Significant improvement in ADAS-cog; in patients with MCI after omega-3 supplementation
[16]	Patients with MCI; (23, 68 yrs)	240 mg DHA + 240 mg AA or placebo	3 mths,; placebo controlled trial	Japanese version of RBANS (5 cognitive domains)	Improvement of immediate memory and attention in omega-3 supplemented group
[17]	Elderly persons with MCI; (36, 66 yrs)	1.3 g DHA + 0.45 mg of EPA or placebo	12 mths,; randomized double-blinded placebo controlled trial	RAVLT, MMSE, CDT, WAIS-R	Significant improvement in cognitive function in omega-3 supplemented group
[18]	Elderly patients suffering from MCI; (11, 85 yrs)	1.4 g DHA + 572 g EPA or placebo	3 mths,; randomized double-blinded placebo controlled trial	MMSE	Significant improvement in MMSE, semantic verbal fluency, and olfactory sensitivity assessment in omega-3 supplemented group
[19]	Older people with MCI; (100, 74 yrs)	180 mg DHA + 120 mg EPA or placebo	6 mths,; randomized double-blinded placebo controlled trial	MMSE, AMT	Low prescription dose had no effect on cognitive function in omega-3 supplemented group

AA = arachidonic acid; DHA = docosahexaenoic acid; EPA = eicosapentaenoic acid; MMSE = Minimental State Examination; ADAS-cog. = Cognitive Portion of the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale; CIBIC plus = Clinician’s Interview-Based Impression of Change Scale; RBANS = Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status; RAVLT = Rey’s Auditory Verbal Learning Test; CDT = Clock Drawing Test; WAIS-R = Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale; AMT = Abbreviated Mental Test.