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Cardiff (pte037/12.04.2005/12:30) - Welsh scientists are examining oily fish to see how it can protect against Alzheimer's disease. It is widely known that eating fish such as salmon, sardines and mackerel appears to cut the risk of developing dementia. As the BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk reports, Cardiff University http://www.cardiff.ac.uk researchers funded by 300,000 pounds from the Alzheimer's Research Trust are to investigate how this might help. The researchers say that in the meantime, people should eat oily fish at least twice a week. The three-year study will be carried out on mice, which have been genetically designed to have an Alzheimer's-like disease. Researchers will then monitor the effects of different diets on the mice. According to preliminary research, feeding the mice oily fish improves their brain function.
"We put the mice through a maze, and the ones with normal brain functions learn quickly when to turn left and right, but the Alzheimer's mice are absolutely hopeless at remembering," said John Harwood, who is leading the research. "When we put them on a diet rich in these fatty oils, their ability to learn improved greatly. It is suggested that the omega 3 oils contained in the fish could prevent the build-up of a protein called amyloid, which grows like a plaque on the brain of Alzheimer's sufferers, and slows down brain functions.
According to Harwood, there have already been a number of studies showing that people who consume a significant amount of oily fish or fish oil capsules seem to have a smaller incidence of Alzheimer's disease. "A study in Chicago last year showed people who included oily fish in their diet had 60 per cent less chance of developing Alzheimer's. Including oily fish in the diet is a very easy thing that anybody can do, without going to a hospital. It won't cure the Alzheimer's, but the evidence is it will slow the rate of deterioration, and it should stop you getting the disease if you don't already have it," he said. "Eventually, it's possible people will be advised to take fish oil capsules. It's difficult to know the exact amount of omega 3 you are getting in your diet, where you would Know-how much you were getting if you took capsules," he added.
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