Omega-3 fatty acids are touted for a myriad of health benefits, one of which is vision protection. Now, a newly developed version of an Omega-3 fatty acid can prevent vision loss stemming from Alzheimer’s disease, researchers said.
Researchers at the University of Illinois, Chicago, developed a new form of omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) that can seep into the eye’s retina to mitigate the chances of visual difficulties related to Alzheimer’s disease and other disorders such as Macular Degeneration, which is a marker of nearsightedness.
The newfound DHA supplement trumps its earlier version commonly found in fish oils (triacylglycerol or TAG-DHA) in terms of eye health benefits. According to a study presented at Discover BMB, Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is crucial for retinal function. But dietary supplements or ingesting DHA capsules are insufficient in terms of boosting the retinal health, as they can’t directly travel to the eyes from the bloodstream.
Scientists, therefore, developed a new lysophospholipid form of DHA to be used in a mice study. LPC-DHA was found to be effective in early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. The dosage of the supplement is equivalent to about 250 to 500 mg in humans per day.
The study, which lasted for six months, found the mice given the supplements showed a 96% improvement in retinal DHA content. However, further studies will be required to assess its range of benefits for humans.
“Dietary LPC-DHA is enormously superior to TAG-DHA in enriching retinal DHA and could be potentially beneficial for various retinopathies in patients,” said Sugasini Dhavamani, a research assistant professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago, according to Neurosciences News. “This approach provides a novel therapeutic approach for the prevention or mitigation of retinal dysfunction associated with Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes.”
The study is yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal. Discover BMB is the…
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