Stave off cognitive decline with seafood

Data from 915 older adults (mean age 81.4) participating in the very long-running Rush Memory and Aging Project, has found that those who reported eating seafood less than once a week showed greater cognitive decline compared to those who ate at least one seafood meal per week.

The food questionnaires included four types of seafood: tuna sandwiches; fish sticks, fish cakes and fish sandwiches; fresh fish as a main dish; and shrimp, lobster and crab. Those who ate at least one of those seafood meals per week ate an average of two seafood meals per week. Those and those who ate less than one of those seafood meals per week ate an average of 0.5 meals per week.

People who ate more seafood had better semantic memory and better perceptual speed (the ability to quickly compare letters, objects and patterns), but there wasn’t a significant difference in the rate of decline in episodic memory, working memory or visuospatial ability.

Factors such as education, physical activity, smoking and participating in mentally stimulating activities were taken into account in the analysis.

Interestingly, the protective association of seafood was stronger among those with the “Alzheimer’s gene” (APOE-ε4).

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-05/rumc-soc051016.php

Reference:

Ondine van de Rest, Yamin Wang, Lisa L. Barnes, Christine Tangney, David A. Bennett, Martha Clare Morris. APOEε4 and the associations of seafood and long-chain omega-3 fatty acids with cognitive decline. Neurology May 2016, 86 (22) 2063-2070; DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000002719

seniors

Fish oils

genes

Lifestyle

Related News

Long-winded speech could be early sign of Alzheimer's

A study comparing the language abilities of 22 healthy young individuals, 24 healthy older individuals and 22 people with

Diagnosing MCI at home

Following on from a previous study showing that such a virtual supermarket game administered by a trained professional can detect

Higher coffee consumption linked to lower dementia risk in women

Data from the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study, involving 6,467 postmenopausal women (65+) who reported some level of caffeine consumption, has found that those who consumed above average amounts of coffee had a lower risk of developing dementia.

Age-related drop in body temperature worsens Alzheimer's disease

Our bodies’ ability to regulate its temperature gets worse with age, along with a slowing metabolism. We also become more vulnerable to Alzheimer's as we age. A study compared mice genetically engineered to manifest Alzheimer's symptoms as they age with normal mice.

Why people with Alzheimer's stop recognizing their loved ones

People with Alzheimer's disease develop problems in recognizing familiar faces. It has been thought that this is just part of their general impairment, but a new study indicates that a specific, face-related impairment develops early in the disease.

Different kinds of physical activity improve brain volume & cut Alzheimer's risk

Data from 876 patients (average age 78) in the 30-year Cardiovascular Health Study show that virtually any type of aerobic physical activity can improve brain volume and reduce Alzheimer's risk.

Hearing aid use linked to better cognition in hearing-impaired elderly

A study involving 100 older adults (aged 80-99) with hearing loss has found that those who used a hearing aid performed significantly better on a cognitive test (MMSE) than those who didn't use a hearing aid, despite having poorer hearing.

Older adults with type 2 diabetes show reduced blood flow linked to worse cognition

A study involving 65 older adults (average age 66), of whom 35 had type 2 diabetes, has found that after two years, those with diabetes had decreases in their ability to regulate blood flow in the brain, and a reduced ability to regulate blood flow was associated with lower cognitive scores.

Physical activity linked to better memory for names and faces among older adults

A small study that fitted 29 young adults (18-31) and 31 older adults (55-82) with a device that recorded steps taken and the vigor and speed with which they were made, has found that those older adults with a higher step rate performed better on memory tasks than those who were more sedentary.

Rates of new dementia cases may be falling

As we all know, people are living longer and obesity is at appalling levels. For both these (completely separate!) reasons, we expect to see growing rates of dementia. A new analysis using data from the long-running Framingham Heart Study offers some hope to individuals, however.

Pages