Category Archives: Dementia

Omega-3 Supplements Fail to Prevent Age-Related Cognitive Decline

Posted on September 16, 2013 | 4 comments
I like fish, but cold whole dead fish leave me cold

Consumption of omega-4 fatty acids, mainly from fish, is thought to prevent dementia and certain types of heart disease such as heart attacks and dangerous rhythm disturbances. For those who don’t like fish or can’t afford it, would taking omega-3 fatty acid supplements be just as effective?

Unfortunately, supplementation does not help prevent age-related cognitive decline and dementia, according to an article at MedPage Today.

The respected Cochrane organization did a meta-analysis of three pertinent studies done in several countries (Holland, UK, and ?).

The investigators leave open the possibility that longer-term studies—over three years—may show some benefit.

I leave you with a quote from the MedPage Today article:

And while cognitive benefits were not demonstrated in this review, Sydenham and colleagues emphasized that consumption of two servings of fish each week, with one being an oily fish such as salmon or sardines, is widely recommended for overall health benefits.

Consumption of cold-water fatty fish also helps return our dietary omega-6/omega-3 fatty acid ratio toward our ancestral level.

Steve Parker, M.D.

Reference:
Sydenham E, et al “Omega 3 fatty acid for the prevention of cognitive decline and dementia” Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2012; DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD005379.pub3.

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High Blood Sugars Again Linked to Dementia

Posted on August 25, 2013 | Comments Off on High Blood Sugars Again Linked to Dementia
dementia, memory loss, Mediterranean diet, low-carb diet, glycemic index, dementia memory loss

“Let’s work on getting those blood sugars down, honey.”

On the heels of a report finding no association between Alzheimer’s disease and abnormal blood sugar metabolism, MedPageToday features a new study linking high blood sugars to future development of dementia. And diabetics with sugar levels higher than other diabetics were more prone to develop dementia.

Some of you have already noted that not all cases of dementia are Alzheimer’s dementia. But Alzheimer’s accounts for a solid majority of dementia cases.

Some quotes from MedPageToday:

During a median follow-up of 6.8 years, 524 participants [of the 2,000 total] developed dementia, consisting of 74 with diabetes and 450 without. Patients without diabetes and who developed dementia had significantly higher average glucose levels in the 5 years before diagnosis of dementia (P=0.01). The difference translated into a hazard ratio of 1.18 (95% CI 1.04-1.33).

…

Among the patients with diabetes, glucose levels averaged 190 mg/dL in those who developed dementia versus 160 mg/dL in those who did not. The difference represented a 40% increase in the hazard for dementia (HR 1.40, 95% CI 1.12-1.76).

—Steve Parker, M.D.

Reference: Crane PK et al. “Glucose Levels and Risk of Dementia” N Engl J Med 2013; 369: 540-548.

Reminder: Conquer Diabetes and Prediabetes is now available on Kindle.

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Another Study Links Diabetes and Prediabetes With Alzheimer’s Dementia

Posted on July 16, 2013 | 2 comments

…according to an article at MedPageToday. A cohort of patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s were found to have unexpectedly high rates of impaired glucose tolerance or outright type 2 diabetes. We don’t know for sure if impaired glucose metabolism is a cause of dementia, or if some other factor links the two conditions. Until we have that answer, if I had impaired glucose metabolism, I’d work to improve it with loss of excess weight, exercise, and low-carb eating.

Here’s another article I wrote wondering if diabetes causes dementia.

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Posted in Dementia