09.01.12
The Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3s (GOED), Salt Lake City, UT, wasted no time in reacting to the mid-June publication of negative omega 3 findings in Cochrane Database Systematic Review.
The researchers had concluded, “Direct evidence on the effect of omega 3 PUFA on incident dementia is lacking. The available trials showed no benefit of omega 3 PUFA supplementation on cognitive function in cognitively healthy older people.”
In its “Rapid Review Alert,” dated June 14, GOED stated, “News headlines that omega 3s don’t provide brain benefits are based on gross misinterpretations.”
According to GOED, the research failed to take into account the following:
• Apolipoprotein E4 (Apo E4) is a risk factor for cognitive decline and those individuals with two E4 alleles are at increased risk. These are the individuals that should be studied, and clinical trials not screening for Apo E4 are destined for failure because they are likely to be grossly underpowered.
• The MIDAS (Memory Improvement With Docosahexaenoic Acid Study), published in 2010, demonstrated that 24-week supplementation with 900 mg/d DHA improved learning and memory function in age-related cognitive decline.
• For one reason or another, of the three studies included in the review, none appropriately assessed the effects of omega 3 supplementation for the prevention of dementia and cognitive decline in the population of interest. 1) OPAL (Older People And omega-3 Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids): This study was designed to test the hypothesis that EPA + DHA supplementation would slow cognitive decline. The primary shortcoming of this study was the absence of cognitive decline over 24 months in the total sample, which suggests that a longer follow-up period was needed. OPAL’s principal investigator, Alan Dangour, co-authored the Cochrane Review, which could be perceived as a conflict of interest. 2) Alpha Omega Trial cohort analysis: In this study, the treatment group received less than 400 mg EPA + DHA per day, which is considered too low a dose to demonstrate any cognitive benefits. Also, cognition was a secondary outcome measurement. 3) MEMO (Mental health in Elderly Maintained with Omega-3): This study was underpowered with 300 subjects.