Abstract
Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is a fatty acid essential for the proper development and functioning of the nervous and visual system. DHA is found in significant concentrations in the phospholipids of neuronal membranes. DHA is provided by the mother during the fetal and early infancy life, during pregnancy and through breastfeeding. Given the importance of an adequate supply of the fatty acid to the newborn, it has been suggested DHA supplementation to the mother before and during the pregnancy and also during the breastfeeding period. In the recent years, research from different scientist have established that DHA has an important role in the development of the nervous system, as well as having an important key role in the preservation of this tissue, especially during aging and in some neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson's disease. DHA may preserve the integrity and the neuronal viability against different metabolic insults and/or cytotoxic events, among which inflammation and oxidative stress are the most relevant. The neuroprotective effects of DHA in neural tissue are mediated by a metabolic derivative, known as neuroprotectin D-1. This molecule may respond to aggression having anti-inflammatory, antiapoptotic and even neuroregenerative effects, which may contribute to preserve the proper neuronal viability as well as the health and function of the nervous system. This review discusses different evidences about the neuroprotective effect of DHA, during aging and against some neurodegenerative diseases, highlighting the important role of the proper nutrition in this protection
Highlights
The scientific and technological development observed since the late nineteenth century until nowadays has caused a significant increase in the life expectancy of the population, being people over 65 a significant and yearly increasing 15% of the population [1]
The girl presented dermatitis associated with neurological symptoms including neuropathy, blurred vision and psychological disturbances, and accompanied by very low plasma Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) levels, which suggested an important role of n-3 LCPUFA, especially DHA, in the functions of the nervous system
A wide range of epidemiological, clinical and basicexperimental studies have currently demonstrated the beneficial effects of n-3 LCPUFA consumption in the prevention and/or treatment of many diseases [44], among which are: cardiovascular disease [45,46,47], obesity and diabetes [48], some cancers [49,50,51], inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis [52, 53], inflammatory bowel disease [54, 55] and asthma [56, 57], non alcoholic fatty liver disease and steatohepatitis [58,59,60] chronic kidney failure [61], and injury caused to the heart and liver after ischemia/reperfusion episodes [62,63,64] and specificaly to the brain level, neurological disorders such as schizophrenia [65], depression [66], migraine [67] and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease [68], Multiple Sclerosis [69] and Parkinson’s disease [70]
Summary
The scientific and technological development observed since the late nineteenth century until nowadays has caused a significant increase in the life expectancy of the population, being people over 65 a significant and yearly increasing 15% of the population [1]. The increase in the life expectancy has increased the prevalence of diseases associated to aging, especially some neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson's disease [2] These illness, besides its increasing with age, are associated to the socioeconomic status, work and physical activity, family history and genetic, and during the last two decades, the nutrition has aroused as a relevant factor [3]. DHA may suppress the cytotoxic effects derived from the accumulation of the -amyloid peptide, being this suppressing effect the main mechanism associated to the neuroprotective action of the fatty acid [9, 13] Facing this evidence, it is reasonable to consider as beneficial the increase in the consumption of DHA by eating foods rich in the fatty acid, such as fatty fish or DHA containing supplements. It is suggested to promote the consumption of foods and/or supplements rich in DHA, as an effective strategy for preserving the brain function during aging and especially to prevent the incidence, or to delay the onset of neurodegenerative diseases
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