Breaking the brain barrier
It is one thing to know that something has a function and quite another to be able to get it to where it is useful. We all know that a plough can dig the earth but unless you can get the plough to a farm or garden it is not much use. In the case of medicines for the brain you might know that they have an action that would benefit the brain but the brain is protected by the blood- brain-barrier designed to keep unwanted elements away from the sensitive and crucial brain. If your medicine can’t cross the blood brain barrier then it can’t deliver its healing properties where they are needed. In a new study though, omega-3 oils have been shown to be winners on two fronts; they act to reduce the causative factors in Alzheimer’s Disease and they can cross the blood-brain-barrier.
Omega-3 fatty acids accumulate in your central nervous system when you are in the womb. It has been assumed that these fatty acids are replaced continuously throughout life although little is known about how this occurs. Diseases are known to impact the fatty acids in the brain. Alzheimer’s Disease for instance, is associated with lower than normal concentrations of the omega-3 fat docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).
In the new study subjects with mild Alzheimer’s Disease were split into two groups. One group of subjects received an omega-3 supplement daily for six months while another group took a placebo. Samples of cerebrospinal fluid showed that only the group given omega-3 supplements experienced an increase in levels of DHA and another omega-3 EPA (eicosapentaenoic aid) in the fluid. This is an indication that omega-3 oils are definitely crossing the blood brain barrier.
Additionally, the patients taking omega-3 showed reduced inflammatory markers in the cerebrospinal fluid as well as improvements in their Alzheimer’s Disease.
The link between inflammation and Alzheimer’s is not fully understood but at least you know that whatever benefits omega-3 has to offer will definitely arrive where they are needed.
