Welcome to the Quality Counts. For those health conscious consumers and medical professionals that are looking to purchase nutritional supplements, vitamins, herbs, learning about medications, losing weight, health food, low carbs, high protein nutrition, and exercise, you have come to the right place. Quality Counts serves both the medical practitioner and consumer interested in nutritional therapy and alternative medicine.

Home > Anti-aging Research > Docosahexaenoic Acid.

Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA)

Related Topics:

• omega-3 (alpha linolenic acid - DHA is an omega-3) / essential fatty acids / omega-6 (linoleic acid) / gamma linolenic acid / evening primrose oil / flaxseed oil / Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) / canola oil

Specific Recommendations:

• DHA products at iHerb
• Jarrow Max DHA at iHerb

News & Research:

• Omega-3 Fatty Acids Help Brain Age Better - WebMD, 2/27/12 - "the results suggest diets lacking in omega-3 fatty acids may cause the brain to age faster ... people whose DHA levels were in the bottom 25% of the group had lower brain volumes compared with people with higher DHA levels ... In addition, people with both low DHA and all the other omega-3 fatty acid levels scored lower on tests of visual memory, processing, and abstract thinking ... Researchers say the results suggest that low DHA and other omega-3 fatty acid levels are associated with a pattern of memory and brain function problems even in people free of dementia" - See Mega Twin EPA at iHerb and Jarrow Max DHA at iHerb.
• Boosting mental performance with fish oil? - Science Daily, 10/21/11 - "overall, taking either of two different types of fish oil supplement for three months had no consistent impact on mental function in 18 -- 35-year-olds, however they did find evidence of reduced mental fatigue and faster reaction times. Contrary to popular belief, these results suggest that taking omega-3 or fish oil supplements may not have an immediate or measureable impact on mental performance in healthy young adults, possibly due to the fact that this population is already performing at its mental peak or that higher doses or longer than 12 weeks supplementation are required ... Interestingly, in the second of these studies it was found that taking DHA-rich fish oil over the same time period did increase blood flow to active areas of the brain during performance of similar mental tasks. The researchers claim these findings could have implications for mental function later on in life, as evidence suggests regularly eating oily fish or taking omega-3 supplements may prevent cognitive decline and dementia, and increased blood flow to the brain may be a mechanism by which this occurs"
• Omega-3 may ease depression symptoms, slash dementia risk: RCT - Nutra USA, 9/23/11 - "recruited 50 people over the age of 65 to participate in their six-month double-blind, randomized controlled trial ... Participants received daily supplements of EPA- or DHA-rich fish oil, or the omega-6 linoleic acid (LA, 2.2 grams per day). The EPA-rich supplement provided 1.67 grams of EPA and 0.16 grams of DHA, while the DHA-rich supplement provided 1.55 grams of DHA and 0.40 grams of EPA ... compared with the group receiving the LA supplements, the EPA-rich supplement group displayed higher scores on the Geriatric Depression Scale ... On the other hand, the DHA group displayed improvements in verbal fluency ... These results indicate that DHA-rich and EPA-rich fish oils may be effective for depressive symptoms and health parameters, exerting variable effects on cognitive and physical outcomes" - [Abstract] - See Mega Twin EPA at iHerb and Jarrow Max DHA at iHerb.
• Omega-3s reduce stroke severity, study suggests - Science Daily, 8/24/11 - "the extent of brain damage following a stroke was reduced by 25% in mice that consumed DHA type omega-3s daily ... the effects of stroke were less severe in mice that had been fed a diet rich in DHA for three months than in mice fed a control diet. In mice from the DHA group, they saw a reduction in the concentrations of molecules that stimulate tissue inflammation and, conversely, a larger quantity of molecules that prevent the activation of cell death ... This is the first convincing demonstration of the powerful anti-inflammatory effect of DHA in the brain ... This protective effect results from the substitution of molecules in the neuronal membrane: DHA partially replaces arachidonic acid, an omega-6 fatty acid known for its inflammatory properties ... this anti-inflammatory effect is likely transferable to humans"
• US military: Low omega-3 levels may boost suicide risk - Nutra USA, 8/25/11 - "Low DHA status can be readily reversed using low-cost dietary interventions that are likely to have multiple beneficial health effects ... We were surprised to find just how low the levels of omega-3 fatty acids were in the entire sample ... for every incremental decrease in DHA levels, the risk of suicide death increased by 14% .. the risk was significant amongst men, with the lowest DHA levels associated with a 62% increase in suicide risk ... suicide is linked to a combination of factors, included social, psychological, and environmental factors. Indeed, the risk of suicide was 52% higher in service personnel who reported having seen wounded, dead, or killed coalition personnel ... a previous placebo-controlled trial demonstrated that 2 grams of omega-3 fatty acids per day reduced suicidal thinking by 45 percent, along with depression and anxiety scores among individuals with recurrent self-harm" - See Jarrow Max DHA at iHerb. - Related articles:
  • Army Suicide Rate Hits New High in July: 32 Suspected Acts - TIME.com, 8/12/11 - "Commanders are immensely frustrated by their inability to drive down the rate, which is demoralizing and depressing to the troops, their families and the nation"
  •  More troops lost to suicide - Congress.org, 1/24/11 - "For the second year in a row, the U.S. military has lost more troops to suicide than it has to combat in Iraq and Afghanistan"
• Maternal DHA may boost baby’s immune system - Nutra USA, 8/4/11 - "mothers taking 400 milligrams of a supplement containing docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) had babies which overcame colds faster than babies with mothers not taking DHA ... At one month, the DHA group experienced 26%, 15%, and 30% shorter duration of cough, phlegm, and wheezing, respectively, but 22% longer duration of rash"
• DHA During Pregnancy May Cut Infant Colds - WebMD, 8/1/11 - "researchers compared the effects of 400 milligrams per day of DHA (via an algae-based supplement) or a placebo started from weeks 18 to 22 of pregnancy and continued through childbirth on infant wellness in a group of 851 Mexican women ... The results showed that infants whose mothers took DHA supplements had fewer colds at age 1 month and shorter duration of cold symptoms at 1, 3, and 6 months of age ... at age 1 month, the infants in the DHA group had a shorter duration of cough, phlegm, and wheezing, although they had a longer duration of rash. At age 3 months, the infants in the DHA group spent 14% less time ill, and by 6 months of age these infants had experienced shorter durations of fever, nasal secretion, difficulty breathing, and rash but a longer duration of vomiting" - [Science  Daily]
• Fish oil may have positive effects on mood, alcohol craving, new study shows - Science Daily, 5/26/11 - "Researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine have found at a molecular level a potential therapeutic benefit from these dietary supplements for treating alcohol abuse and psychiatric disorders ... In a multi-year study, researchers showed conclusive behavioral and molecular benefits for omega 3 fatty acid given to mice models of bipolar disorder. The fatty acid DHA, which is one of the main active ingredients in fish oil, "normalized their behavior," ... The mice that were given DHA normalized their behavior, they are not depressed and when subjected to stress, they do not become manic ... When we looked into their brains, using comprehensive gene expression studies, we were surprised to see that genes that are known targets of psychiatric medications were modulated and normalized by DHA ... These bipolar mice, like some bipolar patients, love alcohol. The mice on DHA drank much less; it curtailed their alcohol abusive behavior ... There is now substantial evidence at the molecular level that omega-3 fatty acids work on the brain in ways similar to psychiatric drug ... Omega 3 fatty acids are known to be good for one's health, good for one's brain, and lack major side-effects, as opposed to some psychiatric medications"
• Omega-3 consumed during pregnancy curbs risk for postpartum depression symptoms - Science Daily, 4/12/11 - "maternal consumption of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; a prominent omega-3 fatty acid) during pregnancy gives infants a developmental advantage even 9 months after they are born. These findings prompted her to consider the benefits that DHA could holistically have on the maternal-infant dyad ... randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled dietary intervention trial in which 52 pregnant women took either a placebo (corn oil) or a fish oil capsule containing 300 milligrams of DHA 5 days each week from 24-40 weeks of pregnancy ... Although the study did not have enough women to investigate if fish oil consumption resulted in a lower incidence of diagnosable postpartum depression, women in the treatment group had significantly lower total Postpartum Depression Screening Scale scores, with significantly fewer symptoms common to postpartum depression"
• Omega-3 fatty acid intake linked with reduced risk of age-related macular degeneration in women - Science Daily, 3/14/11 - "Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, and colleagues collected data on 38,022 women who had not been diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration. Information on women's eating habits was obtained via questionnaire at the beginning of the study and included information on intake of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) [Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish], and arachidonic acid and linoleic acid (omega-6 fatty acids). During ten years of follow-up, additional questionnaires tracked the women's eye health, with specific focus on diagnosis of age-related macular degeneration ... women who consumed the most DHA compared with women who consumed the lowest amount had a 38 percent lower risk of developing age-related macular degeneration. Similar results were observed for higher intake of EPA and for higher consumption of both types of acid together ... consumption of one or more servings of fish per week, when compared to less than one per month, was associated with a 42 percent lower risk of age-related macular degeneration ... For omega-6 fatty acids, higher intake of linoleic acid but not arachidonic acid was associated with an increased risk of age-related macular degeneration, however this association was non-significant after adjustment for other risk factors and fats"
• How omega 3s help to prevent several forms of blindness - Science Daily, 2/9/11 - "The cost of omega-3 supplementation is about $10 a month, versus up to $4,000 a month for anti-VEGF therapy ... In the new study, they document another protective mechanism: a direct effect on blood vessel growth (angiogenesis) that selectively promotes the growth of healthy blood vessels and inhibits the growth of abnormal vessels ... In addition, Smith and colleagues isolated the specific compound from omega-3 fatty acids that has these beneficial effects in mice (a metabolite of the omega-3 fatty acid DHA, known as 4-HDHA), and the enzyme that produces it (5-lipoxygenase, or 5-LOX). They showed that COX enzymes are not involved in omega-3 breakdown, suggesting that aspirin and NSAIDs -- taken by millions of Americans -- will not interfere with omega-3 benefits ... Finally, the study demonstrated that 5-LOX acts by activating the PPAR-gamma receptor, the same receptor targeted by "glitazone" drugs such as Avandia, taken by patients with type 2 diabetes to increase their sensitivity to insulin. Since these drugs also increase the risk for heart disease, boosting omega-3 intake through diet or supplements might be a safer way to improve insulin sensitivity in patients with diabetes or pre-diabetes"
• Fish oil component given up to 5 hours after stroke limits brain damage, study finds - Science Daily, 11/8/10 - "DHA has potent anti-inflammatory effects. Since inflammation is at the root of many chronic diseases, DHA treatment has been widely demonstrated to have beneficial effects in patients with coronary heart disease, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, sepsis, cancer, dry eye disease, and age-related macular degeneration ... To determine how DHA might be effective in stroke treatment and recovery, the LSUHSC research team administered either DHA or saline intravenously at 3, 4, 5, and 6 hours after the onset of stroke. MRIs showed that neurological deficits were reduced by the administration of DHA. DHA treatment reduced swelling and facilitated neurobehavioral recovery. The volume of the area of destroyed tissue was reduced by an average of 40% when DHA was administered at 3 hours, 66% at 4 hours, and 59% at 5 hours. Further analysis showed it triggered production of Neuroprotectin D1 (NPD1), a naturally occurring neuroprotective molecule in the brain derived from DHA ... only did DHA treatment salvage brain tissue that would have died, its repair mechanisms rendered some areas indistinguishable from normal tissue by 7 days"
• DHA improves memory and cognitive function in older adults, study suggests - Science Daily, 11/8/10 - "DHA taken for six months improved memory and learning in healthy, older adults with mild memory complaints ... This study reinforces the principle that consumers will reap the most benefit from their DHA supplements -- and many supplements -- when they are taken over time and before a health concern is imminent"
• Consuming polyunsaturated fatty acids may lower the incidence of gum disease - Science Daily, 10/26/10 - "There was an approximately 20% reduction in periodontitis prevalence in those subjects who consumed the highest amount of dietary DHA. The reduction correlated with EPA was smaller, while the correlation to LNA was not statistically significant"
• Got fish? Nutrition studies explore health benefits - Science Daily, 10/8/10 - "DHA protected the animals against two harmful side effects of CLA: CLA-induced insulin resistance and CLA-induced non-alcoholic fatty-liver disease. In contrast, EPA offered only partial protection against CLA-induced non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and provided no protection against insulin resistance"
• NASA studies find omega-3 may help reduce bone loss - Science Daily, 5/10/10 - "In a series of cell-based studies, scientists documented that adding a specific omega-3 fatty acid to cells would inhibit the activation of factors that lead to bone breakdown. This was true in both typical cell cultures and those designed to mimic weightlessness. The inhibited factor is known as "nuclear factor kappa B" or NFκB. NFκB is involved in immune system behavior and the inflammation process. The activation of NFκB in different tissues can lead to bone and muscle loss" - See Nutra USA article below.  It was DHA, not EPA that worked. See Jarrow Max DHA at iHerb.
• Omega-3 linked to healthier, stronger bones: Rat study - Nutra USA, 5/7/10 - "According to findings of a new study with rats, DHA “appears to be a vital constituent of marrow” and enhances bone mineral content (BMC). The findings did not extend to EPA, however ... Scientists from NASA recently reported in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research that the omega-3 EPA may protect against bone loss during space flight" - [Abstract]
• Lack of omega-3 fatty acid linked to male infertility, study suggests - Science Daily, 4/12/10 - "In our experiment, we used 'knockout' mice that lacked the gene responsible for an enzyme important in making docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). In the absence of DHA, male mice are basically infertile, producing few if any misshaped sperm that can't get where they need to go ... But, when DHA was introduced into the diet, fertility was completely restored. "It was very striking. When we fed the mice DHA, all these abnormalities were prevented,""
• Researchers fishing for cancer cure discover active DHA derivatives - Science Daily, 3/1/10 - "Results showed that DHA killed the cancer cells, but that the toxic derivatives produced by DHA were even more effective at killing the cancer cells. This suggests that DHA could become a new agent for treating neuroblastoma and possibly many other cancers"
• DHA brain benefits may extend to middle age - Nutra USA, 3/1/10 - "Higher DHA was related to better performance on tests of nonverbal reasoning and mental flexibility, working memory, and vocabulary ... increasing levels of DHA were associated with improved mental function in a “generally linear" - [Abstract]
• Omega-3 may boost brain function in boys: Study - Nutra USA, 2/24/10 - "The “main finding” from the fMRI data was an indication of significant increases in the activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex part of the brain in the DHA groups – an area of the brain associated with working memory. Changes in other parts of the brain, including the occipital cortex (the visual processing centre) and the cerebellar cortex (plays a role in motor control) were observed ... These findings suggest that this imaging paradigm could be useful for elucidating neurobiological mechanisms underlying deficits in cortical activity in psychiatric disorders associated with DHA deficiencies, including ADHD and major depression" - [Abstract]
• Very high omega-3 intakes linked to big health benefits - Nutra USA, 2/18/10 - "High levels of the omega-3 fatty acids EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) were associated with lower levels of triglycerides, as well as higher levels of HDL cholesterol ... Raised levels of the fatty acids were also associated with decreased levels of markers of inflammation, such as C-reactive protein (CRP), which is produced in the liver and is a known marker for inflammation. Increased levels of CRP are a good predictor for the onset of both type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease" - [Abstract]
• DHA omega-3 may improve chemotherapy outcomes: Study - Nutra USA, 2/10/10 - "Our data show for the first time that a dietary intervention targeted on DHA is a feasible approach that has potential to substantially increase survival in metastatic breast cancer patients treated with chemotherapy ... the overall survival of women was 22 months, and reached 34 months in women with the highest DHA levels in their blood" - [Abstract] - See Jarrow Max DHA at iHerb.
• Omega-3 may reduce risk of dental disease: Study - Nutra USA, 1/28/10 - "The average number of dental disease events was 1.5 times higher in people with low DHA levels, compared to those with the highest average levels of DHA" - [Abstract]
• New study links DHA type of omega-3 to better nervous-system function - Science Daily, 12/16/09 - "The omega-3 essential fatty acids commonly found in fatty fish and algae help animals avoid sensory overload ... The finding connects low omega-3s to the information-processing problems found in people with schizophrenia; bipolar, obsessive-compulsive, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorders; Huntington's disease; and other afflictions of the nervous system"
• Omega-3 deficiency may be hurting our hearts - MSNBC, 10/23/09 - "Studies show that these special fatty acids accumulate in the brain and can aid children with learning disabilities, reduce violence in prison populations, and even improve everyday mood ... How could omega-3s possibly be this powerful? Scientists believe it's because Americans are suffering from a widespread deficiency. A recent study conducted by Dariush Mozaffarian, MD, of the Harvard School of Public Health, found that the absence of these fatty acids in our diet is responsible annually for up to 96,000 premature deaths in this country" - See Mega Twin EPA at iHerb and Jarrow Max DHA at iHerb.
• Supplementing Babies' Formula With DHA Boosts Cognitive Development, Study Finds - Science Daily, 9/15/09 - "children who were breast fed as infants have superior cognitive skills compared to those fed infant formula, and it's thought that this is due to an essential fatty acid in breast milk called docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) ... because infants who display superior performance on the means-end problem-solving task tend to have superior IQ and vocabulary later in childhood, it's possible that the beneficial effects of DHA extend well beyond infancy"
• How Much Omega-3 Fatty Acid Do We Need To Prevent Cardiovascular Disease? - Science Daily, 9/1/09 - "a 200 mg dose of DHA per day is enough to affect biochemical markers that reliably predict cardiovascular problems, such as those related to aging, atherosclerosis, and diabetes. This study is the first to identify how much DHA is necessary to promote optimal heart health"
• DHA Appears Beneficial for Patients Diagnosed With Mild Cognitive Impairment - Doctor's Guide, 7/13/09 - "Algal DHA appears to have a significant impact on early episodic memory changes and its benefits are roughly equivalent to having the learning and memory skills of someone 3 years younger" - [WebMD]
• Omega-3 DHA boosts memory for healthy adults, not Alzheimer’s sufferers - Nutra USA, 7/13/09
• Mixed Results From Trials Of DHA In Alzheimer's Disease And Age-related Cognitive Decline - Science Daily, 7/12/09
• Omega-3 deficiency causes 96,000 US deaths per year, say researchers - Nutra USA, 6/26/09 - "this new study validates that Omega-3 EPA/DHA is more than just part of a healthy diet...it's a matter of life and death ... We know that daily doses of Omega-3 EPA/DHA can help with many conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, and we're committed to increasing consumer awareness about the drastic Omega-3 EPA/DHA deficiency in the Western diet" - See Mega Twin EPA at iHerb and Jarrow Max DHA at iHerb.
• Omega-3 Fatty Acids May Protect Against Progression Of Age-related Macular Degeneration - Science Daily, 6/18/09 - "we observed participants with early stages of AMD in the placebo group benefited from higher intake of DHA, but it appears that the high-dose supplements of the antioxidants and/or the minerals somehow interfered with the benefits of DHA against early AMD progression ... The antioxidant supplements did not seem to interfere with the protective effects of DHA and EPA against progression to advanced stages of AMD. Participants who consumed higher amounts of DHA and EPA appeared to have lower risk of progression to both wet and dry forms of advanced AMD" - See Mega Twin EPA at iHerb and Jarrow Max DHA at iHerb.
• Omega-3 plus AREDS supplement works for eye health: Study - Nutra USA, 6/16/09 - "Increased intake of DHA was associated with a 27 per cent reduction in the progression to advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD), while EPA was linked to a 26 per cent reduction" - [Abstract]
• Can Omega-3 Fatty Acids Prevent Depression In Coronary Heart Disease? - Science Daily, 6/9/09 - "The prevalence of depression ranged from 23% in participants in the lowest tertile of omega –3 fatty acids (< 3.1% of total blood fatty acids) to 13% in participants in the highest tertile ( >4.3% of total blood fatty acids; p for trend = 0.004). Each unit decrease in EPA + DHA was inversely associated with depressive symptoms as a continuous variable, and these associations persisted after adjustment for age, sex and race. Similarly, each SD decrease in EPA + DHA was associated with significantly greater odds of depression as a dichotomous variable (Patient Health Questionnaire score >10)" - See Mega Twin EPA at iHerb and Jarrow Max DHA at iHerb.
• Fish Oil Protects Against Diseases Like Parkinson's - Science Daily, 4/19/09 - "Dr. Nicolas Bazan, Director of the Neuroscience Center of Excellence, Boyd Professor, and Ernest C. and Yvette C. Villere Chair of Retinal Degenerative Diseases Research at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, will present new research findings showing that an omega three fatty acid in the diet protects brain cells by preventing the misfolding of a protein resulting from a gene mutation in neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's and Huntington's ... the omega three fatty acid, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), protects cells from this defect ... Dr. Bazan's laboratory discovered earlier that neuroprotectin D1 (NPD1), a naturally-occurring molecule in the human brain that is derived from DHA also promotes brain cell survival"
• Resolvins Have Potential To Resolve Periodontal Inflammation And Restore Tissue Health - Science Daily, 4/4/09 - "These results support the hypothesis that both EPA- and DHA-derived Resolvins have therapeutic potential in resolving periodontal inflammation and restoring the tissues' health" - See Mega Twin EPA at iHerb and Jarrow Max DHA at iHerb.
• Omega-3 Kills Cancer Cells - Science Daily, 4/1/09 - "Docosahexanoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 fatty acid found in fish oils, has been shown to reduce the size of tumours and enhance the positive effects of the chemotherapy drug cisplatin, while limiting its harmful side effects ... at the molecular level, DHA acts by reducing leukocytosis (white blood cell accumulation), systemic inflammation, and oxidative stress – all processes that have been linked with tumour growth"
• Omega-3 DHA boost for heart health in high-risk men: Study - Nutra USA, 3/6/09 - "supplementation with DHA for 45 days resulted in decreased levels of the number of circulating white blood cells (neutrophils) by 11.7 per cent, and these reductions were maintained until the end of the 90-day study (10.5 per cent reduction) ... levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) had decreased by 15 per cent, and IL-6 had decreased by 23 per cent ... Furthermore, levels of the anti-inflammatory matrix metalloproteinase-2 rose by 7 per cent ... In conclusion, DHA may lessen the inflammatory response by altering blood lipids and their fatty acid composition" - [Abstract]
• Study: DHA supplements may help premature baby girls - USATODAY.com, 1/13/09 - "premature girls given the high-DHA diet scored about 5 points higher on a 100-point test, which translates to a 55% reduction in the proportion of girls with a "mild mental delay" and an 80% reduction in the proportion of girls with "significant" mental delay"
• Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Sleep Apnea Severity - Medscape, 10/28/08 - "Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) levels were inversely correlated with AHI score"
• Flaxseed Oil Pills vs. Fish Oil Pills - WebMD, 9/12/08 - "As expected, blood levels of EPA and DHA rose in the fish oil group, and ALA rose in the flaxseed oil group. EPA levels also rose in the flaxseed oil group, but only at the higher doses (2.4 to 3.6 grams per day). The researchers write that it's "quite attainable" to get that much ALA from foods without taking supplements ... Since flaxseed oil doesn't contain EPA, the firefighters' bodies must have converted some of the ALA into EPA. That didn't seem to happen at the lower doses of flaxseed oil ... DHA was a different story. The flaxseed oil group didn't get any increase in DHA levels; DHA only rose in the fish oil group"
• Eat Oily Fish At Least Once A Week To Protect Your Eyesight In Old Age - Science Daily, 8/8/08 - "people who habitually consume oily fish at least once a week compared with less than once a week are 50% less likely to have wet AMD. There was no benefit from consumption of non oily white fish. There was a strong inverse association between levels of DHA and EPA and wet AMD. People in the top 25% of DHA and EPA levels (300 mg per day and above) were 70% less likely to have wet AMD" - See Mega Twin EPA at iHerb and Jarrow Max DHA at iHerb.
• Eating Fish May Reduce the Risk for Subclinical Brain Abnormalities - Medscape, 8/7/08 - "Dietary intake of tuna and other fish appear to lower the prevalence of subclinical infarcts and white-matter abnormalities ... We also found that broiled and baked fish appeared to be beneficial, while fried fish was not ... The findings add to prior evidence suggesting fish with higher eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acid content appear to have clinically important health benefits"
• Nutrient cocktail may boost memory and learning: study - Nutra USA, 7/10/08 - "It may be possible to use this [combination] to partially restore brain function in people with diseases that decrease the number of brain neurons, including, for example, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's, strokes and brain injuries. Of course, such speculations have to be tested in double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials ... supplemented the diets of gerbils with uridine (in its monophosphate form, 0.5 per cent) and choline (0.1 per cent), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 300 mg/kg/day) for four weeks ... At the end of the study, significant increases in phospholipid levels in the brain were observed when the compounds were given together, while administration of only DHA or UMP or UMP plus choline produced smaller increases" - [Abstract] - See Citi Choline products at iHerb and Jarrow Max DHA at iHerb.
• Dietary uridine enhances the improvement in learning and memory produced by administering DHA to gerbils - FASEB J. 2008 Jul 7 - "These findings demonstrate that a treatment that increases synaptic membrane content can enhance cognitive functions in normal animals" - See Citi Choline products at iHerb and Jarrow Max DHA at iHerb.
• Eating Fatty Fish Can Help Aging Eyes - WebMD, 6/10/08
• Scientists Learn How Food Affects The Brain: Omega 3 Especially Important - Science Daily, 7/9/08 - "Omega-3 fatty acids support synaptic plasticity and seem to positively affect the expression of several molecules related to learning and memory that are found on synapses ... Omega-3 fatty acids are essential for normal brain function ... Children who had increased amounts of omega-3 fatty acids performed better in school, in reading and in spelling and had fewer behavioral problems ... Scientists are learning which omega-3 fatty acids seem to be especially important. One is docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA, which is abundant in salmon. DHA, which reduces oxidative stress and enhances synaptic plasticity and learning and memory, is the most abundant omega-3 fatty acid in cell membranes in the brain"
• Eating Fish And Foods With Omega-3 Fatty Acids Linked To Lower Risk Of Age-related Eye Disease - Science Daily, 6/9/08 - "When results from all nine studies were combined, a high dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids was associated with a 38 percent reduction in the risk of late (more advanced) AMD, while eating fish twice a week was associated with a reduced risk of both early and late AMD ... "Long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, docosahexaenoic acid in particular, form an integral part of the neural retina," the layer of nerve cells in the retina"
• DHA and Dementia: Preserving Cognition in the Aging Patient (Slides With Audio) - Medscape, 5/22/08 - Good slide show on DHA omega-3 for prevention of dementia and Alzheimer's.  It's 58 minutes though an a bit difficult to get quotes from it.
• Omega-3 DHA shows promise against eczema - Nutra USA, 6/2/08 - "8-week supplementation with 5.4 g daily of the n-3 PUFA DHA ... After eight weeks, Worm and co-workers report that the severity scoring of atopic dermatitis (SCORAD) reduced from 37.0 to 28.5 in the DHA group, and by 35.4 to 33.4 in the control group" - [Abstract] - See Jarrow Max DHA at iHerb.
• Omega-3 Intake During Last Months Of Pregnancy Boosts An Infant's Cognitive And Motor Development - Science Daily, 4/9/08 - "Tests conducted on these infants at 6 and 11 months revealed that their visual acuity as well as their cognitive and motor development were closely linked to DHA concentration in the umbilical cord blood at the time of their birth ... These results highlight the crucial importance of prenatal exposure to omega-3s in a child's development"
• Fish Diet May Cut Sudden Coronary Death - WebMD, 3/12/08 - "Men who reported eating an average of 6 grams of fatty fish daily -- that's two servings, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's serving-size guidelines -- were 55% less likely than men who ate no fatty fish to die of sudden coronary death ... The researchers chalk up the results to the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA" - See Mega Twin EPA at iHerb and Jarrow Max DHA at iHerb.
• Cardiovascular Benefits Of Omega-3 Fatty Acids Reviewed - Science Daily, 3/12/08 - "The most compelling evidence for the cardiovascular benefit provided by omega-3 fatty acids comes from three large controlled trials of 32,000 participants randomized to receive omega-3 fatty acid supplements containing DHA and EPA or to act as controls ... These trials showed reductions in cardiovascular events of 19 percent to 45 percent ... keeping fish oil capsules in the freezer ... may help reduce burping and upset stomach symptoms" - I've always done the freezer thing and haven't had any problem with the burp even on an empty stomach.  Also note that it's the DHA and EPA that count.  I have friends that buy cheap fish oil capsules that have very low DHA and EPA (omega-3) and they think they are getting a great deal.  I take Jarrow Max DHA at iHerb and Jarrow Max DHA at iHerb.  They've got the highest percentage of omega-3 that I've found.
• Late-onset Alzheimer's slowed by DHA omega-3 - Nutra USA, 1/25/08 - "In this study, we report that DHA significantly increases LR11 in multiple systems ... DHA may be most useful for early intervention and prevention of late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) ... Because reduced LR11 is known to increase beta-amyloid production and may be a significant genetic cause of LOAD, our results indicate that DHA increases in [LR11] levels may play an important role in preventing LOAD" - [Abstract]
• Anti-Alzheimer's Mechanism In Omega-3 Fatty Acids Found - Science Daily, 1/2/08 - "the omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) found in fish oil increases the production of LR11, a protein that is found at reduced levels in Alzheimer's patients and which is known to destroy the protein that forms the "plaques" associated with the disease"
• Fish Oil Prevents Alzheimer's Plaques - WebMD, 12/26/07 - "the fish-oil compound DHA causes brain cells to make lots more LR11 ... Because reduced LR11 is known to increase beta amyloid production and may be a significant genetic cause of late-onset Alzheimer's disease, our results indicate that DHA increases in LR11 levels may play an important role in preventing late-onset Alzheimer's disease"
• Maternal omega-3 consumption boosts offspring's coordination - Nutra USA, 12/20/07 - "Our results suggest that prenatal DHA availability, which can be influenced by maternal dietary DHA intake during pregnancy, can have an effect on quality of movement in later life" - [Abstract]
• Omega-3 Fatty Acids vs. Parkinson's? - WebMD, 11/30/07 - "Our results suggest that this DHA deficiency is a risk factor for developing Parkinson's disease, and that we would benefit from evaluating omega-3's potential for preventing this disease in humans"
• Omega-3 Fatty Acids Protect Against Parkinson's, Study Says - Science Daily, 11/26/07 - "Omega-3 fatty acids protect the brain against Parkinson's disease ... omega-3 fatty acids--in particular DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), a specific type of omega-3--had replaced the omega-6 fatty acids already present in the brains of the mice that had been given omega-3 supplementation"
• Staving Off Alzheimer's Disease With The Right Diet, Prescriptions - Science Daily, 11/7/07 - "Fish oil elevated the level of a protein that prevents the formation of amyloid, the tell-tale protein found in Alzheimer's. Caffeine reversed memory impairment in animal models of the disease. In addition, environmental copper reduced the clearance of amyloid, from the brain to blood ... scientists have identified ways that essential omega-3 fatty acid -- docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) or fish oil -- can help prevent Alzheimer's ... DHA also reduced pro-inflammatory arachidonic acid in brains of Alzheimer's model mice, consistent with the anti-inflammatory effects of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that are associated with reduced Alzheimer's in people"
• Different omega-3 may offer different colorectal protection - Nutra USA, 7/11/07 - "Increased intake of EPA was associated with a 41 per cent reduction in risk, while DHA was associated with a 37 per cent reduction in risk, comparing highest against lowest average intakes" - [Abstract]
• Omega-3 Fatty Acid Slows Alzheimer’s - WebMD, 4/18/07 - "One received supplemental DHA only, and the other two groups received DHA plus additional omega-6 fatty acids ... After three months, all of the mice on the DHA diets had lower levels of beta-amyloid and tau proteins than those in the control group. But at nine months, only those on the DHA-only diet had lower levels of both proteins"
• Omega-3 Fatty Acid May Help Prevent Alzheimer's Brain Lesions - Science Daily, 4/17/07 - "One of these groups received supplemental DHA only, and two groups received DHA plus additional omega-6 fatty acids. After three months, mice in all of the test groups had lower levels of beta amyloid and tau than mice in the control group, but at nine months, only mice on the DHA diet had lower levels of both proteins"
• Omega-3s boost bone mass in young men - study - Nutra USA, 3/8/07 - "After a mean follow-up of seven years 11 months Högström and co-workers report that concentrations of omega-3 fatty acids were positively linked to total BMD, spine BMD, with DHA specifically mentioned to have significant positive associations with these two measures, at age 22"
• Omega-3 in fish oils might ease depression - USA Today, 3/6/07 - "The more DHA a person consumed, the more gray matter there was in three areas of the brain linked to mood: the amygdala, the hippocampus and the cingulate, Conklin says. Seriously depressed people tend to have less gray matter in these areas" [WebMD]
• DHA alone can lower triglycerides, says study - Nutra USA, 2/7/07 - "Subjects were randomized to either 1000mg of DHA or 1252 mg of DHA + EPA for eight weeks ... triglycerides were lowered an average of 21.8 per cent in the DHA group and 18.3 per cent in the DHA + EPA group"
• Can Fish Intake Predict Chances Of Developing Dementia? - Science Daily, 1/3/07 - "the participants who reported consuming an average of about three servings of oily fish a week--equivalent to blood levels of DHA at 180 milligrams daily--were associated with a significantly reduced risk of developing dementia of all types, including Alzheimer's disease. No other fatty acid blood level was independently linked to the risk of dementia"
• Higher Level Of Certain Fatty Acid Associated With Lower Dementia Risk - Science Daily, 11/28/06 - "men and women in the quartile with the highest DHA levels had a 47 percent lower risk of developing dementia and 39 percent lower risk of developing Alzheimer's disease than the other three quartiles with lower DHA levels ... those in the top quartile of blood DHA levels reported that they ate an average of .18 grams of DHA a day and an average of three fish servings a week. Participants in the other quartiles ate substantially less fish" - See iHerb or Vitacost DHA products.  My favorite is Jarrow Max DHA at iHerb.
• Fat in Fish May Help Prevent Dementia - WebMD, 11/13/06 - "participants with the highest DHA levels at the beginning of the study were 47% less likely to get dementia and 39% less likely to get Alzheimer's disease during the study than the rest of the group"
• DHA and the Developing Brain - Life Extension Magazine, 7/06
• Vegetarians need DHA supplements, says Nutrinova - Nutra USA, 11/25/05
• Eating Fish Associated with Slower Cognitive Decline - Doctor's Guide, 10/12/05 - "Consuming fish at least once a week was associated with a 10% per year slower rate of cognitive decline in elderly people ... consumption of one omega-3 fatty acid in particular, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), is important for memory performance in aged animals"
• Fatty Acids: Good For The Brain, Good For Alzheimer Disease - Science Daily, 9/11/05 - "DHA can decrease levels of the pathogenic Abeta peptides that are associated with Alzheimer disease pathology in human brain cells"
• Scientists Discover How Fish Oil Protects the Brain - Intelihealth, 9/9/05 - "docosahexaenoic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid found in coldwater fish such as mackerel, sardines and salmon, reduces levels of a protein known to cause damaging plaques in the brains of Alzheimer's patients"
• Fish Fat May Help Fight Alzheimer's Disease - WebMD, 9/8/05 - "DHA helped brain cells in two ways: ... Curbing production of beta-amyloid proteins, which are seen in Alzheimer's brain plaque ... Boosting production of another protein called NPD1 that helps brain cells stay alive"
• DHA in mother's milk boosts psychomotor skills - Nutra USA, 7/11/05
• Fish Oil Holds Promise In Alzheimer's Fight - Science Daily, 5/29/05 - "one group of the mice DHA-fortified chow ... After three to five months--the equivalent of several years in human biology--the high-DHA group had 70-percent less buildup of amyloid protein in the brain"
• Fatty Acids DHA and ARA Significantly Aid Infant Development, Two New Studies Show - Doctor's Guide, 4/15/05 - "The groups receiving supplemental DHA and ARA also had higher mental and psychomotor development scores at 118 weeks ... women who are breastfeeding can take a DHA dietary supplement to ensure adequate levels of DHA in their breast milk. This is particularly important because pregnant and nursing women in the U.S. do not typically receive enough DHA through their diets to pass on the necessary amount to their developing infants"
• DHA reduces cholesterol particle size in children, shows study - Nutra USA, 4/6/05
• Fish Oil May Fight Alzheimer's Disease - WebMD, 3/22/05 - "Brain imaging showed that the high-DHA diet cut brain plaque by 40%. The largest drops were seen in brain areas vulnerable to Alzheimer's disease ... The high-DHA diet also delivered the biggest drop (70%) in levels of beta-amyloid protein in the brain, a building block of plaque"
• DHA Protects Against Alzheimer’s Disease? - Physician's Weekly, 1/3/05 - "DHA intake should be considered as a potential neuroprotective strategy for AD"
• Good for the heart, good for the brain - MSNBC, 12/6/04 - "While diets high in cholesterol are bad for the brain, getting plenty of omega 3 fatty acids, found primarily in fish, is vital for a healthy noggin ... In particular, a component of omega 3 fatty acids known as DHA, or docosahexaenoic acid, is key"
• Fishing For Answers To Alzheimer's: Healthful, Fish-Rich Diet Might Prevent Tragic Disease - Intelihealth, 11/17/04 - "Fish is the most concentrated natural source of a particular omega-3 called docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA. That fat is known to play a crucial role in learning and memory ... Unless you're eating fish every day, you're not getting enough DHA"
• Why Fish Seems to Prevent Alzheimer's Damage - WebMD, 9/1/04 - "DHA may prevent or slow Alzheimer's progression by protecting against damage to the area where brain cells communicate"
• Pregnant? Omega-3 Essential for Baby's Brain - WebMD, 7/16/04 - "infants born to mothers with higher blood levels of the omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) at delivery had advanced levels of attention spans well into their second year of life" - See iHerb or Vitacost DHA products.
• Seeing Is Believing: Fatty Acid in Fish Oil May Slow Vision Loss - Healthwell, 5/20/04
• High DHA Intake Linked to Less Alzheimer's, Other Dementia - Clinical Psychiatry News, 3/04 - "People who ate an average of 180 mg or more a day of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a fatty acid found in fish oil, had about 40% less Alzheimer's disease and other dementia, compared with people who consumed less DHA"
• Docosahexaenoic Acid, An Omega-3 Fatty Acid, Not Effective In Treating Major Depression - Doctor's Guide, 5/20/03
• Fish Oil Benefits Your Eyes - WebMD, 5/8/03 - "Why might fish oil protect eyes from age-related macular degeneration? One component of fish oil is docosahexaenoic acid -- DHA for short. It's one of the omega-3 fatty acids linked to other health benefits. Interestingly, DHA builds up in the eye near light-sensing nerve cells"
• Where’s the Best DHA? - Dr. Weil, 4/24/03
• Evidence-based Products - Functional Foods & Nutraceuticals, 12/02 - "3g EPA/d and 3g DHA/d (ROPUFA) increased systemic arterial compliance in 38 dyslipidemic men and women, resulting in reduced pulse pressure and total vascular resistance ... Results showed that ROPUFA increased SAC—36 per cent with EPA and 27 per cent with DHA—compared with placebo"
• Mother's DHA Levels Predict Maturity of Baby's Brain - Natural Foods Merchandiser, 11/02 - "On their first day after birth, babies whose mothers had high DHA levels slept more soundly—the ratio of active to quiet sleep was about half that of the other babies. By their second day, the same babies were awake almost twice as much on average compared with the babies whose mothers had lower DHA levels"

Abstracts:

• 22 : 6n-3 DHA inhibits differentiation of prostate fibroblasts into myofibroblasts and tumorigenesis - Br J Nutr. 2012 Mar 6:1-9 - "DHA represents a suitable agent to inhibit prostate myofibroblast differentiation, invasiveness and EMT, two most important tumour-promoting activities involved in the progression of prostate cancer cells"
• Effects of dietary supplementation with a combination of fish oil, bilberry extract, and lutein on subjective symptoms of asthenopia in humans - Biomed Res. 2011;32(6):387-93 - "supplement containing omega-3 fatty acid-rich fish oil (docosahexaenoic acid 783 mg/day, eicosapentaenoic acid 162 mg/day), bilberry extract (anthocyanidin 59 mg/day), and lutein (17.5 mg/day) in soft gel capsule form, every day for 4 weeks ... Asthenopia [eye strain] symptoms such as "stiff shoulder, low back pain", "frustration", "dry-eye", and "stuffy head" were improved in the Active group. Furthermore, a score of mental fatigue was improved after 4 weeks of supplementation, and no side effects were observed after the 4-week supplementation and a 2-week washout period in the Active group. These results suggest that dietary supplementation with the combination of omega-3 fatty acid-rich fish oil, bilberry extract, and lutein may safely improve subjective symptoms of asthenopia and mental fatigue in humans"
• Omega-3 again linked to lower inflammation: Study - Nutra USA, 11/28/11 - "the researchers analyzed blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids, CRP, as well as methylmercury levels in the hair of Finnish men aged between 42 and 60 ... Results showed that as omega-3 levels increased, CRP levels decreased, with "statistically significant inverse associations were also observed with the total serum long-chain n-3 PUFA concentration and with the individual long-chain n-3 PUFAs docosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid, but not with eicosapentaenoic acid or with the intermediate-chain n-3 PUFA alpha-linolenic acid" ... the anti-inflammatory properties of omega-3 may be linked to the compounds' unsaturated double bonds" - [Abstract]
• Accumulation of Dietary Docosahexaenoic Acid in the Brain Attenuates Acute Immune Response and Development of Postischemic Neuronal Damage - Stroke. 2011 Aug 18 - "We show that a 3-month DHA treatment prevented microglial activation after ischemic injury, reduced the ischemic lesion size, and increased levels of the antiapoptotic molecule Bcl-2 in the brain. Additional analysis revealed a significant decrease in the levels of COX2 and IL-1β, but not in other proinflammatory cytokines. Importantly, long-term DHA supplementation significantly changed the n-3:n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid ratio in the brain ... Collectively, these data indicate that diet-induced accumulation of DHA in the brain protects against postischemic inflammation and injury. Because DHA is widely available at low cost and has an excellent safety profile, our data suggest that increased DHA intake may provide protection against acute immune response/brain damage in ischemic stroke"
• Differential Association of Docosahexaenoic and Eicosapentaenoic Acids With Carotid Intima-Media Thickness - Stroke. 2011 Jul 14 - "Japanese compared to U.S. whites had significantly lower IMT (mean±SD, 618±81 and 672±94 μm for Japanese and whites, respectively; P<0.001) and had >2-fold higher levels of DHA and EPA. DHA, but not EPA, had an inverse association with IMT in both Japanese and U.S. whites. The inverse association remained only in Japanese men after adjusting for risk and other factors. The significant difference in multivariable-adjusted IMT became nonsignificant after further adjusting for DHA (mean difference, 17 μm; 95% CI, -8 to 43; P=0.177) but not EPA. In this multivariable-adjusted model, DHA but not EPA was a significant predictor of IMT (P=-0.032 versus 0.863, respectively) ... These data suggest that DHA may have a more potent antiatherogenic effect than EPA, especially in levels observed in the Japanese, independent of risk factors"
• Anti-inflammatory and anti-angiogenic effect of long chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in intestinal microvascular endothelium - Clin Nutr. 2011 May 30 - "DHA led to a decreased VCAM-1, TLR4, cyclooxygenase-2 and VEGFR2 expression and a decreased production of IL-6, IL-8 and GM-CSF and a reduced production of PGE(2) and LTB(4) (p < 0.001) in IL-1β-induced HIMEC. Similarly, dietary intervention with fish oil rich in EPA and DHA significantly decreased colon production of PGE(2) and LTB(4,) endothelial VCAM-1 and VEGFR2 in rats with colitis ... Data obtained from in vitro and in vivo studies reveal a potential anti-angiogenic role of long chain n-3 PUFA in intestinal endothelial cells. This protective effect of long chain n-3 PUFA may partly explain the observed benefit of dietary intake of long chain n-3 PUFA in IBD development"
• Omega-3 status in pregnancy linked to childhood obesity: Study - Nutra USA, 5/6/11 - "A higher ratio of cord plasma omega-6 to omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) was associated with higher subscapular and triceps [skinfold thicknesses] and odds of obesity ... around one fifth expectant mothers ate more than 2 fish meals per week at mid-pregnancy, however only about half of these women achieved the recommend intake of DHA of 200 mg per day ... Only three per cent of pregnant women in the study were found to consume the recommended intake of 200 mg/day of DHA in the last month of pregnancy ... this is the time when large amounts of DHA are transferred from the mother to the infant to support brain development ... the odds of obesity in 3-year-olds were between two and four times higher when cord blood had a high ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids ... In contrast, the odds of obesity were 32 per cent lower when maternal consumption of omega-3s was high or if the ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 was at close to recommended levels" - [Abstract]
• Prenatal DHA Status and Neurological Outcome in Children at Age 5.5 Years Are Positively Associated - J Nutr. 2011 Apr 27 - "Healthy pregnant women from Spain, Germany, and Hungary were randomly assigned to a dietary supplement consisting of either fish oil (FO) (500 mg/d DHA + 150 mg/d EPA), 400 μg/d 5-methyltetrahydrofolate, both, or placebo from wk 20 of gestation until delivery ... We conclude that higher DHA levels in cord blood may be related to a better neurological outcome at 5.5 y of age"
• Consumption of a DHA-containing functional food during pregnancy is associated with lower infant ponderal index and cord plasma insulin concentration - Br J Nutr. 2011 Apr 27:1-5 - "DHA consumption during pregnancy may be advantageous with respect to infant body composition at birth and insulin sensitivity"
• Docosahexaenoic acid modulates in vitro the inflammation of celiac disease in intestinal epithelial cells via the inhibition of cPLA(2) - Clin Nutr. 2011 Mar 19 - "arachidonic acid (AA) ... Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is a long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid that counteracts many of the proinflammatory effect of AA ... The exposure of those cells to PT-gl alone resulted in an increased AA release, cycloxygenase-2 expression, cPLA(2) activity and prostaglandin E(2) and interleukin-8 release in culture medium, whereas the simultaneous exposure of the cells to DHA and PT-gl prevented the above-mentioned increases ... These results suggest that intestinal epithelial cells sustain the celiac inflammation, releasing AA when stimulated with gliadin and that DHA inhibits the AA release by these cells"
• Neurophysiologic and neurobehavioral evidence of beneficial effects of prenatal omega-3 fatty acid intake on memory function at school age - Am J Clin Nutr. 2011 Mar 9 - "The beneficial effects of prenatal and early postnatal intakes of omega-3 (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) on cognitive development during infancy are well recognized. However, few studies have examined the extent to which these benefits continue to be evident in childhood ... Repeated-measures analyses of variance revealed that children with higher cord plasma concentrations of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which is an important n-3 PUFA, had a shorter FN400 latency and a larger LPC amplitude; and higher plasma DHA concentrations at the time of testing were associated with increased FN400 amplitude. Cord DHA-related effects were observed regardless of seafood-contaminant amounts. Multiple regression analyses also showed positive associations between cord DHA concentrations and performance on neurobehavioral assessments of memory ... To our knowledge, this study provides the first neurophysiologic and neurobehavioral evidence of long-term beneficial effects of n-3 PUFA intake in utero on memory function in school-age children" - See Mega Twin EPA at iHerb and Jarrow Max DHA at iHerb.
• Docosahexaenoic Acid reduces amyloid {beta} production via multiple, pleiotropic mechanism - J Biol Chem. 2011 Feb 15 - "Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by accumulation of the amyloidogenic peptide Aβ generated by β- and γ-secretase processing of the amyloid precursor protein (APP). The intake of the polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) has been associated with decreased amyloid deposition and a reduced risk in AD in several epidemiological trials; however the exact underlying molecular mechanism remains to be elucidated ... DHA reduces amyloidogenic processing by decreasing β- and γ-secretase activity, whereas the expression and protein levels of BACE1 and Presenilin1 remain unchanged. In addition, DHA increases protein stability of α-secretase resulting in increased non-amyloidogenic processing. Beside the known effect of DHA to decrease cholesterol de novo synthesis, we found cholesterol distribution in plasma membrane to be altered. In presence of DHA, cholesterol shifts from raft to non-raft domains, which is accompanied by a shift in γ-secretase activity and Presenilin1 protein level. Taken together, DHA directs amyloidogenic processing of APP towards non-amyloidogenic processing, effectively reducing Aβ release. DHA has a typical pleiotropic effect; DHA-mediated Aβ reduction is not the consequence of a single major mechanism, but the result of combined multiple effects"
• The ethanolamide metabolite of DHA, docosahexaenoylethanolamine, shows immunomodulating effects in mouse peritoneal and RAW264.7 macrophages: evidence for a new link between fish oil and inflammation - Br J Nutr. 2011 Feb 4:1-10 - "Among the compounds tested, docosahexaenoylethanolamine (DHEA), the ethanolamide of DHA, was found to be the most potent inhibitor, inducing a dose-dependent inhibition of NO release. Immune-modulating properties of DHEA were further studied in the same cell line, demonstrating that DHEA significantly suppressed the production of monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), a cytokine playing a pivotal role in chronic inflammation. In LPS-stimulated mouse peritoneal macrophages, DHEA also reduced MCP-1 and NO production. Furthermore, inhibition was also found to take place at a transcriptional level, as gene expression of MCP-1 and inducible NO synthase was inhibited by DHEA. To summarise, in the present study, we showed that DHEA, a DHA-derived NAE metabolite, modulates inflammation by reducing MCP-1 and NO production and expression. These results provide new leads in molecular mechanisms by which DHA can modulate inflammatory processes"
• Docosahexaenoic acid: brain accretion and roles in neuroprotection after brain hypoxia and ischemia - Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2010 Dec 21 - "DHA is a major n-3 fatty acid in the mammalian central nervous system and enhances synaptic activities in neuronal cells ... DHA attenuates brain necrosis after hypoxic ischemic injury, principally by modulating membrane biophysical properties and maintaining integrity in functions between presynaptic and postsynaptic areas, resulting in better stabilizing intracellular ion balance in hypoxic-ischemic insult. Additionally, DHA alleviates brain apoptosis, by inducing antiapoptotic activities such as decreasing responses to reactive oxygen species, upregulating antiapoptotic protein expression, downregulating apoptotic protein expression, and maintaining mitochondrial integrity and function"
• Long-Term Effects of Prenatal Omega-3 Fatty Acid Intake on Visual Function in School-Age Children - J Pediatr. 2010 Aug 25 - "This study demonstrates beneficial effects of DHA intake during gestation on visual system function at school age. DHA is particularly important for the early development and long-term function of the visual parvocellular pathway"
• Fish and n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Intake and Depressive Symptoms: Ryukyus Child Health Study - Pediatrics. 2010 Aug 16 - "The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 22.5% for boys and 31.2% for girls. For boys, fish intake was inversely associated with depressive symptoms (adjusted odds ratio [OR] for depressive symptoms in the highest [compared with the lowest] quintile of intake: 0.73 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.55-0.97]; P for trend = .04). EPA intake showed an inverse association with depressive symptoms (OR: 0.71 [95% CI: 0.54-0.94]; P = .04). DHA intake also showed a similar inverse, albeit nonsignificant, association (OR: 0.79 [95% CI: 0.59-1.05]; P = .11). In addition, intake of EPA plus DHA was inversely associated with depressive symptoms (OR: 0.72 [95% CI: 0.55-0.96]; P = .08). Conversely, no such associations were observed among girls" - See Mega Twin EPA at iHerb and Jarrow Max DHA at iHerb.
• Effects of Early Maternal Docosahexaenoic Acid Intake on Neuropsychological Status and Visual Acuity at Five Years of Age of Breast-Fed Term Infants - J Pediatr. 2010 Jul 22 - "Children whose mothers received DHA versus placebo performed significantly better on the Sustained Attention Subscale of the Leiter International Performance Scale (46.5 +/- 8.9 vs 41.9 +/- 9.3, P < .008) but there were no statistically significant differences between groups on other neuropsychological domains. CONCLUSIONS: Five-year-old children whose mothers received modest DHA supplementation versus placebo for the first 4 months of breastfeeding performed better on a test of sustained attention. This, along with the previously reported better performance of the children of DHA-supplemented mothers on a test of psychomotor development at 30 months of age, suggests that DHA intake during early infancy confers long-term benefits on specific aspects of neurodevelopment"
• Phosphatidylserine Containing omega-3 Fatty Acids May Improve Memory Abilities in Non-Demented Elderly with Memory Complaints: A Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial - Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord. 2010 Jun 3;29(5):467-474 - "The results indicate that PS-DHA may improve cognitive performance in non-demented elderly with memory complaints. Post-hoc analysis of subgroups suggests that participants with higher baseline cognitive status were most likely to respond to PS-DHA" - See Jarrow Max DHA at iHerband phosphatidylserine products at iHerb.
• Antinociceptive Effects of Docosahexaenoic Acid against Various Pain Stimuli in Mice - Biol Pharm Bull. 2010;33(6):1070-2 - "DHA administration dose-dependently exerted an antinociceptive effect against thermal and chemical stimulation in comparison to the control olive oil administration ... These findings suggest that DHA has opiod receptor-mediated pain control activities, and may provide valuable information towards an advanced therapeutic approach for pain control"
• Bone mineral content is positively correlated to n-3 fatty acids in the femur of growing rats - Br J Nutr. 2010 Apr 27:1-12 - "DHA accumulates in the osteoblast-rich and nerve-abundant periosteum of femur; DHA but not EPA appears to be a vital constituent of marrow and periosteum of healthy modelling bone; and both DHA and total n-3 PUFA strongly correlate to BMC" - See Jarrow Max DHA at iHerb.
• DHA May Prevent Age-Related Dementia - J Nutr. 2010 Feb 24 - "DHA is pleiotropic, acting at multiple steps to reduce the production of the beta-amyloid peptide, widely believed to initiate AD. DHA moderates some of the kinases that hyperphosphorylate the tau-protein, a component of the neurofibrillary tangle. DHA may help suppress insulin/neurotrophic factor signaling deficits, neuroinflammation, and oxidative damage that contribute to synaptic loss and neuronal dysfunction in dementia. Finally, DHA increases brain levels of neuroprotective brain-derived neurotrophic factor and reduces the (n-6) fatty acid arachidonate and its prostaglandin metabolites that have been implicated in promoting AD. Clinical trials suggest that DHA or fish oil alone can slow early stages of progression, but these effects may be apolipoprotein E genotype specific, and larger trials with very early stages are required to prove efficacy. We advocate early intervention in a prodromal period with nutrigenomically defined subjects with an appropriately designed nutritional supplement, including DHA and antioxidants"
• Serum Phospholipid Docosahexaenonic Acid Is Associated with Cognitive Functioning during Middle Adulthood - J Nutr. 2010 Feb 24 - "higher DHA (mol %) was related to better performance on tests of nonverbal reasoning and mental flexibility, working memory, and vocabulary (P </= 0.05). These associations were generally linear. Associations between DHA and nonverbal reasoning and working memory persisted with additional adjustment for participant education and vocabulary scores ... Among the 3 key (n-3) PUFA, only DHA is associated with major aspects of cognitive performance in nonpatient adults <55 y old. These findings suggest that DHA is related to brain health throughout the lifespan and may have implications for clinical trials of neuropsychiatric disorders"
• Docosahexaenoic acid supplementation increases prefrontal cortex activation during sustained attention in healthy boys: a placebo-controlled, dose-ranging, functional magnetic resonance imaging study - Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 Feb 3 - "During sustained attention, both DHA dose groups had significantly greater changes from baseline in activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex than did the placebo group, and the low-dose and high-dose DHA groups had greater decreases in the occipital cortex and cerebellar cortex, respectively. Relative to low-dose DHA, high-dose DHA resulted in greater decreases in activation of bilateral cerebellum. The erythrocyte DHA composition was positively correlated with dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activation and was inversely correlated with reaction time, at baseline and endpoint"
• Associations of very high intakes of eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids with biomarkers of chronic disease risk among Yup'ik Eskimos - Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 Jan 20 - "Means (5th-95th percentiles) for RBC EPA and DHA were 2.8% (0.5-5.9%) and 6.8% (3.3-9.0%), respectively. Associations of EPA and DHA were inverse and linear for triglycerides (beta +/- SE = -0.10 +/- 0.01 and -0.05 +/- 0.01, respectively) and positive and linear for HDL cholesterol (beta +/- SE = 2.0 +/- 0.5 and 0.9 +/- 0.6, respectively) and apolipoprotein A-I (beta +/- SE = 2.6 +/- 0.8 and 1.7 +/- 0.8, respectively). Positive linear associations of DHA with LDL and total cholesterol (beta +/- SE = 7.5 +/- 1.4 and 6.80 +/- 1.57, respectively) were observed; for EPA, these associations were nonlinear and restricted to concentrations approximately <5% of total fatty acids. Associations of EPA and DHA with C-reactive protein were inverse and nonlinear: for EPA, the association appeared stronger at concentrations approximately >3% of total fatty acids; for DHA, it was observed only at concentrations approximately >7% of total fatty acids. CONCLUSIONS: Increasing EPA and DHA intakes to amounts well above those consumed by the general US population may have strong beneficial effects on chronic disease risk"
• Docosahexaenoic Acid Deficiency and Prefrontal Cortex Neuropathology in Recurrent Affective Disorders - J Nutr. 2010 Feb 10 - "Increasing evidence suggests that docosahexaenoic acid [DHA, 22:6(n-3)], the principal (n-3) fatty acid in brain gray matter, has neurotrophic and neuroprotective properties. Preliminary clinical evidence also suggests that the perinatal accrual, and the subsequent dietary maintenance of, cortical DHA is positively associated with cortical gray matter volumes. The pathophysiology of recurrent affective disorders, including unipolar and bipolar depression, is associated with (n-3) fatty acid deficiency, DHA deficits, impaired astrocyte mediated vascular coupling, neuronal shrinkage, and reductions in gray matter volume in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Preclinical studies have also observed neuronal shrinkage and indices of astrocyte pathology in the DHA-deficient rat brain. Together, this body of evidence supports the proposition that DHA deficiency increases vulnerability to neuronal atrophy in the PFC of patients with affective disorders"
• Longitudinal relationship between dietary omega-3 fatty acids and periodontal disease - Nutrition. 2010 Jan 22 - "Low DHA intake was significantly associated with more periodontal disease events. The mean number of periodontal disease events for participants who consumed the lowest tertile of DHA was approximately 1.5 times larger (lowest tertile, incidence rate ratio 1.49, 95% confidence interval 1.01-2.21) than the reference group (highest tertile of DHA consumption), after simultaneously adjusting for possible confounders"
• Association of marine omega-3 fatty acid levels with telomeric aging in patients with coronary heart disease - JAMA. 2010 Jan 20;303(3):250-7 - "Individuals in the lowest quartile of DHA+EPA experienced the fastest rate of telomere shortening (0.13 telomere-to-single-copy gene ratio [T/S] units over 5 years; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.09-0.17), whereas those in the highest quartile experienced the slowest rate of telomere shortening (0.05 T/S units over 5 years; 95% CI, 0.02-0.08; P < .001 for linear trend across quartiles). Levels of DHA+EPA were associated with less telomere shortening before (unadjusted beta coefficient x 10(-3) = 0.06; 95% CI, 0.02-0.10) and after (adjusted beta coefficient x 10(-3) = 0.05; 95% CI, 0.01-0.08) sequential adjustment for established risk factors and potential confounders. Each 1-SD increase in DHA+EPA levels was associated with a 32% reduction in the odds of telomere shortening (adjusted odds ratio, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.47-0.98)" -See Mega Twin EPA at iHerb and Jarrow Max DHA at iHerb.
• Improving outcome of chemotherapy of metastatic breast cancer by docosahexaenoic acid: a phase II trial - Br J Cancer. 2009 Dec 15;101(12):1978-85 - "The objective response rate was 44%. With a mean follow-up time of 31 months (range 2-96 months), the median TTP was 6 months. Median OS was 22 months and reached 34 months in the sub-population of patients (n = 12) with the highest plasma DHA incorporation. The most common grade 3 or 4 toxicity was neutropaenia (80%). CONCLUSION: DHA during chemotherapy was devoid of adverse side effects and can improve the outcome of chemotherapy when highly incorporated. DHA has a potential to specifically chemosensitise tumours"
• Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and cardiovascular diseases - J Am Coll Cardiol. 2009 Aug 11;54(7):585-94 - "The most compelling evidence for CV benefits of omega-3 PUFA comes from 4 controlled trials of nearly 40,000 participants randomized to receive eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) with or without docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in studies of patients in primary prevention, after myocardial infarction, and most recently, with heart failure (HF) ... The target EPA + DHA consumption should be at least 500 mg/day for individuals without underlying overt CV disease and at least 800 to 1,000 mg/day for individuals with known coronary heart disease and HF" - See Mega Twin EPA at iHerb and Jarrow Max DHA at iHerb.
• Omega-3 fatty acid supplements improve the cardiovascular risk profile of subjects with metabolic syndrome, including markers of inflammation and auto-immunity - Acta Cardiol. 2009 Jun;64(3):321-7 - "were given 1 gram of fish oil as a single capsule, containing 180 mg eicosapentaenoic acid and 120 mg docosahexaenoic acid daily for 6 months. Control subjects did not receive any supplementation over the same period. RESULTS: The study was completed by 47 subjects in the intervention group and 42 subjects in the control group. Treatment with omega 3 supplements was associated with a significant fall in body weight (P < 0.05), systolic blood pressures (P < 0.05), serum low density lipoprotein cholesterol (P < 0.05), and total cholesterol (P < 0.05), triglycerides (P < 0.05), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) (P < 0.01), and Hsp27 antibody titres (P < 0.05). No significant changes were observed in the control group. CONCLUSION: It appears that omega 3 improves the cardiovascular risk profile of subjects with metabolic syndrome, having effects on weight, systolic blood pressure, lipid profile and markers of inflammation and autoimmunity" - See Mega Twin EPA at iHerb and Jarrow Max DHA at iHerb.
• Fatty fish and fish omega-3 fatty acid intakes decrease the breast cancer risk: a case-control study - BMC Cancer. 2009 Jun 30;9(1):216 - "Using a multivariate logistic regression model, high intake of fatty fish was associated with a reduced risk for breast cancer in both pre- and postmenopausal women (OR [95% CI] for highest vs. lowest intake quartiles, p for trend: 0.19 [0.08 to 0.45], p < 0.001 for premenopausal women, 0.27 [0.11 to 0.66], p = 0.005 for postmenopausal women). Similarly, reductions in breast cancer risk were observed among postmenopausal subjects who consumed more than 0.101 g of EPA (OR [95% CI]: 0.38 [0.15 to 0.96]) and 0.213 g of DHA (OR [95% CI]: 0.32 [0.13 to 0.82]) from fish per day compared to the reference group who consumed less than 0.014 g of EPA and 0.037 g of DHA per day. Among premenopausal women, there was a significant reduction in breast cancer risk for the highest intake quartiles of omega-3 fatty acids (ORs [95% CI]: 0.46 [0.22 to 0.96]), compared to the reference group who consumed the lowest quartile of intake" - See Mega Twin EPA at iHerb and Jarrow Max DHA at iHerb.
• Does eating particular diets alter risk of age-related macular degeneration in users of the age-related eye disease study supplements? - Br J Ophthalmol. 2009 Jun 12 - "Independent of AREDS supplementation, higher intakes of DHA (>/= 64.0 vs. < 26.0 mg/d) (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.73, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.57, 0.94), EPA (>/= 42.3 vs. < 12.7 mg/d) (HR = 0.74, 95% CI, 0.59, 0.94), and lower dGI (dGI, < 75.2 vs. >/= 81.5) (HR = 0.76, 95% CI, 0.60, 0.96) were associated with lower risk for progression to advanced AMD. Participants consuming lower dGI and higher DHA or EPA had the lowest risk (P for synergistic interaction < 0.001) ... Our findings show an association of consuming a diet rich in DHA with lower progression of early AMD" - See Mega Twin EPA at iHerb and Jarrow Max DHA at iHerb.
• Fish-oil supplementation induces antiinflammatory gene expression profiles in human blood mononuclear cells - Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Jun 10 - "A high EPA+DHA intake changed the expression of 1040 genes, whereas HOSF intake changed the expression of only 298 genes. EPA+DHA intake resulted in a decreased expression of genes involved in inflammatory- and atherogenic-related pathways, such as nuclear transcription factor kappaB signaling, eicosanoid synthesis, scavenger receptor activity, adipogenesis, and hypoxia signaling. CONCLUSION: These results are the first to show that intake of EPA+DHA for 26 wk can alter the gene expression profiles of PBMCs to a more antiinflammatory and antiatherogenic status"
• Plasma n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids are negatively associated with obesity - Br J Nutr. 2009 May 19:1-5 - "Plasma fatty acid composition was determined by GC. BMI, waist circumference and hip circumference were inversely correlated with n-3 PUFA, EPA and DHA (P < 0.05 for all) in the obese group. Obese individuals had significantly lower plasma concentrations of total n-3 PUFA, compared with healthy-weight individuals (4.53 (sd 1.11) v. 5.25 (sd 1.43) %)" - See Mega Twin EPA at iHerb and Jarrow Max DHA at iHerb.
• DHA Supplementation Decreases Serum C-Reactive Protein and Other Markers of Inflammation in Hypertriglyceridemic Men - J Nutr. 2009 Jan 21 - "DHA supplementation for 45 and 91 d decreased the number of circulating neutrophils by 11.7 and 10.5%, respectively (P < 0.05). It did not alter the circulating concentrations of other inflammatory markers tested within 45 d, but at 91 d it reduced (P < 0.05) concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP) by 15%, interleukin-6 by 23%, and granulocyte monocyte-colony stimulating factor by 21% and DHA increased the concentration of antiinflammatory matrix metalloproteinase-2 by 7%. The number of circulating neutrophils was positively associated with the weight percent (wt %) of 20:4(n-6) in RBC lipids, and negatively to the wt % of 20:5(n-3) and 22:6(n-3). Concentrations of CRP and serum amyloid A were positively associated with the sum of SFA and negatively with the wt % of 18:1(n-9) and 17:0 in RBC lipids; CRP was also positively associated with the wt % of 20:2(n-6). The mean size of VLDL particles was positively associated with plasma concentrations of neutrophils and CRP. In conclusion, DHA may lessen the inflammatory response by altering blood lipids and their fatty acid composition"
• Docosahexaenoic Acid and the Aging Brain - J Nutr. 2008 Dec;138(12):2510-2514 - "Deficits in DHA or its peroxidation appear to contribute to inflammatory signaling, apoptosis, and neuronal dysfunction in Alzheimer disease (AD), a common and progressive age-related neurological disorder unique to structures and processes of the human brain"
• Low plasma eicosapentaenoic acid and depressive symptomatology are independent predictors of dementia risk - Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Sep;88(3):714-21 - "A high plasma EPA concentration may decrease the risk of dementia, whereas high ratios of n-6 to n-3 fatty acids and of AA to DHA may increase the risk of dementia, especially in depressed older persons. The role of EPA in dementia warrants further research" - See Mega Twin EPA at iHerb and Jarrow Max DHA at iHerb.
• Oily fish consumption, dietary docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid intakes, and associations with neovascular age-related macular degeneration - Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Aug;88(2):398-406 - "neovascular AMD (NV-AMD) ... Eating oily fish at least once per week compared with less than once per week was associated with a halving of the OR for NV-AMD" - See Mega Twin EPA at iHerb and Jarrow Max DHA at iHerb.
• A double-blind dose-finding pilot study of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) for major depressive disorder - Eur Neuropsychopharmacol. 2008 Jun 5 - "Group A (n=14): 1 g/day of oral DHA; Group B (n=11): 2 g/day; and Group C (n=10): 4 g/day. We measured HAM-D-17 scores, plasma DHA, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and n-6/n-3 ratio. Completer response rates (>/=50% decrease in HAM-D-17 score) were 83% for Group A, 40% for Group B, and 0% for Group C; Groups A and B had significant decreases in HAM-D-17 scores"
• Assessing the effect of docosahexaenoic acid on cognitive functions in healthy, preschool children: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study - Clin Pediatr (Phila). 2008 May;47(4):355-62 - "Regression analysis, however, yielded a statistically significant positive (P = .018) association between the blood level of docosahexaenoic acid and higher scores on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, a test of listening comprehension and vocabulary acquisition" - See Jarrow Max DHA at iHerb.
• Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) supplementation in atopic eczema: a randomized, double-blind, controlled trial - Br J Dermatol. 2008 Jan 30 - "either DHA 5.4 g daily (n = 21) or an isoenergetic control of saturated fatty acids (n = 23) for 8 weeks ... DHA, but not the control treatment, resulted in a significant clinical improvement of atopic eczema" - See Jarrow Max DHA at iHerb.
• Electrophilic cyclopentenone neuroprostanes are anti-inflammatory mediators formed from the peroxidation of the omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid - J Biol Chem. 2008 May 19 - "free radical-mediated oxidation of DHA greatly enhances its anti-inflammatory potency, an effect that closely parallels the formation of A4/J4-NPs. Furthermore, chemical reduction or conjugation to glutathione, both of which eliminate the bioactivity of A4-NP, also abrogate the anti-inflammatory effects of oxidized DHA. Thus, we have demonstrated that A4/J4-NPs, formed via the oxidation of DHA, are potent inhibitors of NF-kB signaling and may contribute to the anti-inflammatory actions of DHA"
• Docosahexaenoic acid-rich fish oil improves heart rate variability and heart rate responses to exercise in overweight adults - Br J Nutr. 2008 Mar 13;:1-7 - "heart rate variability (HRV), a predictor of cardiac death ... 6 g fish oil/d (DHA 1.56 g/d, EPA 0.36 g/d) or sunflower-seed oil (placebo) for 12 weeks ... maximal heart rate (HR) ... Fish oil supplementation improved HRV by increasing high-frequency power, representing parasympathetic activity, compared with placebo (P = 0.01; oil x time interaction). It also reduced HR at rest and during submaximal exercise"
• Essential n-3 fatty acids in pregnant women and early visual acuity maturation in term infants - Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Mar;87(3):548-57 - "More infant girls in the placebo than in the DHA intervention group had a visual acuity below average (P = 0.048). Maternal red blood cell ethanolamine phosphoglyceride docosatetraenoic acid was inversely related to visual acuity in boys (rho = -0.37, P < 0.05) and girls (rho = -0.48, P < 0.01)"
• Omega3 Fatty acids for cardioprotection - Mayo Clin Proc. 2008 Mar;83(3):324-32 - "The most compelling evidence for the cardiovascular benefit provided by omega-3 fatty acids comes from 3 large controlled trials of 32,000 participants randomized to receive omega-3 fatty acid supplements containing docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) or to act as controls. These trials showed reductions in cardiovascular events of 19% to 45%. These findings suggest that intake of omega-3 fatty acids, whether from dietary sources or fish oil supplements, should be increased, especially in those with or at risk for coronary artery disease. Patients should consume both DHA and EPA. The target DHA and EPA consumption levels are about 1 g/d for those with known coronary artery disease and at least 500 mg/d for those without disease. Patients with hypertriglyceridemia benefit from treatment with 3 to 4 g/d of DHA and EPA, a dosage that lowers triglyceride levels by 20% to 50%. Although 2 meals of oily fish per week can provide 400 to 500 mg/d of DHA and EPA, secondary prevention patients and those with hypertriglyceridemia must use fish oil supplements if they are to reach 1 g/d and 3 to 4 g/d of DHA and EPA, respectively" - See Mega Twin EPA at iHerb and Jarrow Max DHA at iHerb.  I take both because the percentage of omega-3 (EPA and DHA) is very low in other supplements.  I don't know what the rest of that oil is but your not saving anything by getting supplements with a low percentage.  Just do the math plus if the rest of the oil is an omega-6 you're not helping the omega-6/omega-3 ratio.
• Fatty acid status and behavioural symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in adolescents: A case-control study - Nutr J. 2008 Feb 14;7(1):8 - "ADHD adolescents consumed more energy and fat than controls but had similar anthropometry. ADHD children consumed equivalent amounts of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids to controls, however they had significantly lower levels of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3) and total omega-3 fatty acids, higher omega-6 fatty acids and a lower ratio of n-3:n-6 fatty acids than control subjects. In addition, low omega-3 status correlated with higher scores on several Conners' behavioural scales ... These data suggest that adolescents with ADHD continue to display abnormal essential fatty acid profiles that are often observed in younger children and distinctly different from normal controls of similar age. Further these red blood cell fatty acid differences are not explained by differences in intake. This suggests that there are metabolic differences in fatty acid handling between ADHD adolescents and normal controls. The value of omega-3 supplements to improve fatty acid profiles and possibly behaviours associated with ADHD, need to be examined" - See Jarrow Max DHA at iHerb and Mega Twin EPA at iHerb.
• Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) supplementation in atopic eczema: a randomized, double-blind, controlled trial - Br J Dermatol. 2008 Jan 30 - "either DHA 5.4 g daily (n = 21) or an isoenergetic control of saturated fatty acids (n = 23) for 8 weeks ... DHA, but not the control treatment, resulted in a significant clinical improvement of atopic eczema"
• Omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid increases SorLA/LR11, a sorting protein with reduced expression in sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD): relevance to AD prevention - J Neurosci. 2007 Dec 26;27(52):14299-307 - "late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) ... DHA significantly increases LR11 in multiple systems ... Because reduced LR11 is known to increase Abeta production and may be a significant genetic cause of LOAD, our results indicate that DHA increases in SorLA/LR11 levels may play an important role in preventing LOAD"
• Docosahexaenoic Acid Supplementation Decreases Remnant-Like Particle-Cholesterol and Increases the (n-3) Index in Hypertriglyceridemic Men - J Nutr. 2008 Jan;138(1):30-35 - "Plasma remnant-like particle-cholesterol (RLP-C) and the RBC (n-3) index are novel risk factors for cardiovascular disease ... DHA supplementation for 45 d decreased (P < 0.05) fasting RLP-C (36%) and increased plasma eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA):arachidonic acid (AA) (100%) and the RBC (n-3) index (109%). Continued supplementation with DHA between d 45 and 91 further increased the RBC (n-3) index (162%) and plasma EPA:AA (137%) compared with baseline values. RLP-C concentration was positively associated (P < 0.01) with the plasma concentrations of triacylglycerols (Kendall's correlation coefficient or r = 0.46), triacylglycerol:HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) (r = 0.44), total cholesterol:HDL-C (r = 0.26), Apo B (r = 0.22), C III (r = 0.41), and E (r = 0.17), and 18:1(n-9) (r = 0.32); it was negatively associated (P < 0.05) with plasma concentrations of DHA (r = -0.32), EPA (r = -0.25), HDL-C (r = -0.21), LDL cholesterol:Apo B (r = -0.30), and HDL-C:Apo A"
• Relationship between long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids at birth and motor function at 7 years of age - Eur J Clin Nutr. 2007 Dec 19 - "Our results suggest that prenatal DHA availability, which can be influenced by maternal dietary DHA intake during pregnancy, can have an effect on quality of movement in later life"
• Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a primary tumor suppressive omega-3 fatty acid, inhibits growth of colorectal cancer independent of p53 mutational status - Nutr Cancer. 2007;58(2):178-87 - "Taken together, these findings suggest DHA is the primary tumor suppressive omega-3 fatty acid in vivo and in vitro and inhibits cancer growth by p53 dependent and independent pathways, while the marginal inhibition by EPA is p53 independent"
• Dose-dependent effects of docosahexaenoic acid-rich fish oil on erythrocyte docosahexaenoic acid and blood lipid levels - Br J Nutr. 2007 Oct 31;:1-6 - "For every 1 g/d increase in DHA intake, there was a 23 % reduction in TAG (mean baseline concentration 1.9 (sem 0.1) mmol/l), 4.4 % increase in HDL-cholesterol and 7.1 % increase in LDL-cholesterol. Erythrocyte DHA content increased in proportion to the dose of DHA consumed (r 0.72, P < 0.001) and the increase after 12 weeks was linearly related to reductions in TAG (r - 0.38, P < 0.01) and increases in total cholesterol (r 0.39, P < 0.01), LDL-cholesterol (r 0.33, P < 0.01) and HDL-cholesterol"
• Gamma-tocopherol and docosahexaenoic acid decrease inflammation in dialysis patients - J Ren Nutr. 2007 Sep;17(5):296-304 - "gamma tocopherol (308 mg) and DHA (800 mg) ... In the treatment group, but not in the placebo group, there were significant decreases in IL-6 (21.4 +/- 3.5 to 16.8 +/- 3.7 pg/mL), white blood cell (WBC) count (7.4 +/- 0.3 to 6.9 +/- 0.4 10(3)/microL), and neutrophil fraction of WBCs (4.8 +/- 0.3 to 4.4 +/- 0.3 10(3)/microL), at P < .05 for all"
• Dietary Fatty acids and colorectal cancer: a case-control study - Am J Epidemiol. 2007 Jul 15;166(2):181-95 - "Significant dose-dependent reductions in risk were associated with increased consumption of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (highest vs. lowest quartile of intake: odds ratio = 0.63, 95% confidence interval: 0.50, 0.80; p < 0.0005 for trend) and of eicosapentaenoic (odds ratio = 0.59, 95% confidence interval: 0.47, 0.75; p < 0.0005 for trend) and docosahexaenoic (odds ratio = 0.63"
• Tissue n-3 and n-6 fatty acids and risk for coronary heart disease events - Atherosclerosis. 2007 May 14 - "The long-chain n-3 FA, especially DHA, were consistently and significantly reduced in patients experiencing CHD events. These findings add further support to the view that long-chain n-3 FA are cardioprotective"
• Role of prescription omega-3 Fatty acids in the treatment of hypertriglyceridemia - Pharmacotherapy. 2007 May;27(5):715-28 - "In patients with triglyceride levels above 500 mg/dl, approximately 4 g/day of EPA and DHA reduces triglyceride levels 45% and very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels by more than 50%"
• The triglyceride-lowering effects of a modest dose of docosahexaenoic acid alone versus in combination with low dose eicosapentaenoic acid in patients with coronary artery disease and elevated triglycerides - J Am Coll Nutr. 2006 Dec;25(6):480-5 - "randomized to either 1000 mg of DHA or 1252 mg of DHA + EPA for eight weeks ... Triglycerides decreased by an average of 21.8% in the DHA group (p < 0.001) and 18.3% in the DHA + EPA group (p < 0.001). The difference between groups was not significant. A greater proportion of subjects in the DHA group achieved triglyceride goal (less than 150 mg/dL) compared to the DHA + EPA group (24.6% versus 10.2%, p < 0.05)"
• Fish consumption, n-3 fatty acids, and subsequent 5-y cognitive decline in elderly men: the Zutphen Elderly Study - Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Apr;85(4):1142-7 - "Fish consumers had significantly (P = 0.01) less 5-y subsequent cognitive decline than did nonconsumers. A linear trend was observed for the relation between the intake of EPA+DHA and cognitive decline (P = 0.01). An average difference of approximately 380 mg/d in EPA+DHA intake was associated with a 1.1-point difference in cognitive decline"
• n-3 Fatty acids are positively associated with peak bone mineral density and bone accrual in healthy men: the NO2 Study - Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Mar;85(3):803-7 - "The results showed that n-3 fatty acids, especially DHA, are positively associated with bone mineral accrual and, thus, with peak BMD in young men"
• Omega 3 fatty acids and the brain: review of studies in depression - Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2007;16 Suppl:391-7 - "It is clear from the literature that DHA is involved in a variety of processes in neural cells and that its role is far more complex than simply influencing cell membrane properties"
• Plasma Phosphatidylcholine Docosahexaenoic Acid Content and Risk of Dementia and Alzheimer Disease: The Framingham Heart Study - Arch Neurol 2006;63 1545-1550 - "Subjects in the upper quartile of plasma PC DHA levels had a mean DHA intake of 0.18 g/d and a mean fish intake of 3.0 servings per week ... The top quartile of plasma PC DHA level was associated with a significant 47% reduction in the risk of developing all-cause dementia"
• Potential role of dietary n-3 fatty acids in the prevention of dementia and macular degeneration - Am J Clin Nutr. 2006 Jun;83(6 Suppl):1494S-1498S - "n-3 Fatty acids, particularly docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), are highly concentrated in brain and retinal tissue and may prevent or delay the progression of dementia and AMD. Low dietary intakes and plasma concentrations have been reported to be associated with dementia, cognitive decline, and AMD risk ... Our own unpublished observations from the Framingham Heart Study suggest that > or =180 mg/d of dietary DHA (approximately 2.7 fish servings/wk) is associated with an approximately 50% reduction in dementia risk"
• The independent effects of eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid on cardiovascular risk factors in humans - Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2006 Mar;9(2):95-104 - "Clinical trials and experimental studies have shown that omega3 fatty acids have many other potentially important antiatherogenic and antithrombotic effects. Omega-3 fatty acids lower blood pressure and heart rate, improve dyslipidaemia, reduce inflammation, and improve vascular and platelet function. These favourable effects have until recently been primarily attributed to the omega3 fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid, which is present in large amounts in fish oil. Controlled studies in humans now demonstrate that docosahexaenoic acid, although often present in lower quantities, has equally important anti-arrhythmic, anti-thrombotic and anti-atherogenic effects"
• Depression and long chain n-3 fatty acids in adipose tissue in adults from Crete - Eur J Clin Nutr. 2006 Feb 8 - "The inverse relationship between adipose DHA and depression in adults, replicates findings of a previous study. This relationship indicates that a low long-term dietary intake of DHA is associated with an increased risk for depression in adults"
• Essential fatty acids, DHA and human brain - Indian J Pediatr. 2005 Mar;72(3):239-42 - "It is recommended that the pregnant and nursing woman should take at least 2.6g of omega-3 fatty acids and 100-300 mg of DHA daily to look after the needs of her fetus and suckling infant. The follow-up studies have shown that infants of mothers supplemented with EFAs and DHA had higher mental processing scores, psychomotor development, eye-hand coordination and stereo acuity at 4 years of age. Intake of EFAs and DHA during preschool years may also have a beneficial role in the prevention of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and enhancing learning capability and academic performance"
• N-3 fatty acids and pregnancy outcomes - Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2005 Mar;8(2):161-166 - "Children whose mothers received docosahexaenoic acid supplementation during pregnancy and lactation scored better in mental processing tests carried out at 4 years than children whose mothers received placebo"
• Growth and development of preterm infants fed infant formulas containing docosahexaenoic acid and arachidonic acid - J Pediatr. 2005 Apr;146(4):461-8 - "Feeding formulas with DHA and ARA from algal and fungal oils resulted in enhanced growth. Both supplemented formulas provided better developmental outcomes than unsupplemented formulas"
• Circulating triacylglycerol and apoE levels in response to EPA and docosahexaenoic acid supplementation in adult human subjects - Br J Nutr. 2004 Sep;92(3):477-83 - "Our present results indicate that DHA may be more efficacious than EPA in improving the plasma lipid profile"
• LDL cholesterol-raising effect of low-dose docosahexaenoic acid in middle-aged men and women - Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Apr;79(4):558-563 - "A daily intake of approximately 0.7 g DHA increases LDL cholesterol by 7% in middle-aged men and women. It is suggested that DHA down-regulates the expression of the LDL receptor"
• Randomized controlled trial of the effect of n–3 fatty acid supplementation on the metabolism of apolipoprotein B-100 and chylomicron remnants in men with visceral obesity - Am. J. of Clin. Nutr., 2/03 - "randomly assigned to receive either fish oil capsules (4 g/d, consisting of 45% eicosapentaenoic acid and 39% docosahexaenoic acid as ethyl esters) or matching placebo ... Fish oil supplementation significantly (P < 0.05) lowered plasma concentrations of triacylglycerols (-18%) and VLDL apo B (-20%) and the hepatic secretion of VLDL apo B (-29%) compared with placebo" - Doing the math, 45% of 4 grams equals 1,800 mg of EPA,  39% of 4 grams equals 1,560 mg of DHA.

Where to purchase DHA:

Related Searches:

• Doctor's Guide search of docosahexaenoic
• Doctor's Guide (2) search of docosahexaenoic
• Intelihealth search of docosahexaenoic
• Life Extension Foundation search
• Medline search of docosahexaenoic
• Medscape search of docosahexaenoic
• The Natural Pharmacist search of docosahexaenoic
• Nutrition Science News search
• WebMD search of docosahexaenoic

70916