Positive Health Online

Abstract

LIN and COLLEAGUES,  (1)Department of Psychiatry, Keelung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Keelung City, Taiwan; College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan County, Taiwan.; Community Medicine Research Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Keelung, Keelung, Taiwan; (2)College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan County, Taiwan.; Department of Psychiatry, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan County, Taiwan.; (3)Department of Biological Science and Technology, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan; (4)Department of Engineering and System Science, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan; (5)Department of Imaging Physics, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, United States of America; (6)Department of Head and Neck Oncology Group, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan; Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan; (7)Institute of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Psychiatry, China Medical University Hsinchu Hospital, China Medical University, Hsinchu, Taiwan; Research Center of Big Data and Meta-analysis, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan;(8)Department of Psychiatry, Taipei City Psychiatric Center, Taipei City Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Psychiatry, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan. : daf50@tpech.gov.tw ;(9)Department of Biological Science and Technology, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan. shunchi.wu@mx.nthu.edu.tw .conducted a 52-week double-blind randomized controlled trial to explore the link between  late-life depression (LLD) and dementia. The researcher used resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) before and after omega-3 PUFAs supplement in older adults with LLD.

Background

Late-life depression (LLD) is associated with risk of dementia, yet intervention of LLD provides an opportunity to attenuate subsequent cognitive decline. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) supplement is a potential intervention due to their beneficial effect in depressive symptoms and cognitive function. To explore the underlying neural mechanism, we used resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) before and after omega-3 PUFAs supplement in older adults with LLD.

Methodology

A 52-week double-blind randomized controlled trial was conducted. We used multi-scale sample entropy to analyze rs-fMRI data. Comprehensive cognitive tests and inflammatory markers were collected to correlate with brain entropy changes.

Results

A total of 20 patients completed the trial with 11 under omega-3 PUFAs and nine under placebo. While no significant global cognitive improvement was observed, a marginal enhancement in processing speed was noted in the omega-3 PUFAs group. Importantly, participants receiving omega-3 PUFAs exhibited decreased brain entropy in left posterior cingulate gyrus (PCG), multiple visual areas, the orbital part of the right middle frontal gyrus, and the left Rolandic operculum. The brain entropy changes of the PCG in the omega-3 PUFAs group correlated with improvement of language function and attenuation of interleukin-6 levels. Limitations: Sample size is small with only marginal clinical effect.

Conclusion

These findings suggest that omega-3 PUFAs supplement may mitigate cognitive decline in LLD through anti-inflammatory mechanisms and modulation of brain entropy. Larger clinical trials are warranted to validate the potential therapeutic implications of omega-3 PUFAs for deterring cognitive decline in patients with late-life depression. Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Conflict of interest statement: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References

Lin C(1), Lee SH(2), Huang CM(3), Wu YW(4), Chang YX(4), Liu HL(5), Ng SH(6), Cheng YC(7), Chiu CC(8), Wu SC(9). Cognitive protection and brain entropy changes from omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids supplement in late-life depression: A 52-week randomized controlled trial. J Affect Disord.  ;351:15-23. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2024.01.205. Epub Jan 26 2024 . Apr 15 2024.