Fish
oil may benefit alcohol abusers
Omega-3 fish oil might
help protect against alcohol-related neurodamage and the risk of eventual dementia,
according to a study published in the journal PLOS
ONE.
Many human studies have
shown that long-term alcohol abuse causes brain damage and increases the risk
of dementia. The new study found that in brain cells exposed to high levels of
alcohol, a fish oil compound protected against inflammation and neuronal cell
death.
These
brain cultures were compared with cultures exposed to the same high levels of
alcohol, plus a compound found in fish oil called omega-3 docosahexaenoic acid
(DHA).
Researchers found there
was up to 90 percent less neuroinflammation and neuronal death in the brain
cells exposed to alcohol plus DHA than in the cells exposed to alcohol alone.
An earlier meta-analysis by Collins and Neafsey, which pooled the results of
about 75 studies, found that moderate social drinking may have the opposite
effect of reducing the risk of dementia and/or cognitive impairment during
aging. (Moderate drinking is defined as a maximum of two drinks per day for men
and 1 drink per day for women.)
It appears that limited
amounts of alcohol might, in effect, tend to make brain cells more fit. Alcohol
in moderate amounts stresses cells and thus toughens them up to cope with major
stresses and insults down the road that could cause dementia. But too much
alcohol overwhelms the cells, leading to neuroinflammation and cell death.
Further studies are needed
to confirm whether fish oil protects against alcohol-related cognitive injury
and dementia in adult rodent models. "Fish oil has the potential of
helping preserve brain integrity in chronic alcohol abusers," Collins
said. "At the very least, it is unlikely that it would hurt them."
But Collins added that
the best way for an alcohol abuser to protect the brain is to cut back to low
or moderate amounts or quit entirely. "We don't want people to think it is
okay to take a few fish oil capsules and then continue to go on abusing
alcohol," he said. PLOS
ONE is an international,
peer-reviewed, open-access online journal. Collins earlier reported findings at
the 14th Congress of the European Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism
in Warsaw.
Story Source:
The above story is
based on materials provided by Loyola University Health System. Note:
Materials may be edited for content and length.
Journal
Reference:
1. Nuzhath
Tajuddin, Kwan-Hoon Moon, S. Alex Marshall, Kimberly Nixon, Edward J. Neafsey,
Hee-Yong Kim, Michael A. Collins. Neuroinflammation
and Neurodegeneration in Adult Rat Brain from Binge Ethanol Exposure:
Abrogation by Docosahexaenoic Acid. PLoS
ONE, 2014; 9 (7): e101223 DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0101223
Cite This Page:
Loyola University Health
System. "Fish oil may benefit alcohol abusers." Science
Daily, 17 July 2014.
<www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/07/140717180252.htm>.