Abstract
Aging is associated to cognitive decline that can lead to neurodegenerative diseases and constitutes one of the main social and economic issues of the 21st century. The loss of memory, orientation and processing abilities associated with aging are involved in the loss of autonomy and in the decline in the quality of life in the elderly. Brain structures involved in memory such as hippocampus, cortex and striatum, are particularly affected by molecular and cellular damage during this period. Lipid metabolism and neurofunctional alterations, including disturbances in synaptic plasticity and neurogenesis, chronic low-grade inflammation and increased oxidative stress, are partly to be involved in age-related cognitive decline. Actually, nutrition represents a strategy of choice to prevent or delay these impairments since many studies have provided valuable data concerning the effect of dietary patterns and specific nutrients on cognitive function. From all nutrients, some of them are particularly attractive. Indeed, n-3 polyunsaturated acids (PUFAs), especially docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), have been identified for their beneficial effects on cognition, notably by acting on brain plasticity (synaptic plasticity, neurogenesis), neuroinflammation and oxidative stress. Other nutrients such as vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin D, polyphenols as well as pre- and probiotics have aroused a growing interest in decreasing cognitive disorders. As nutrition has to be taken as a whole, we first described the effects of the Mediterranean diet which constitutes the most complete association of nutrients and (DHA from fish, vitamins and polyphenols from fruits and vegetables) represents a global vision of nutrition, then we focused on the interest of combining DHA and micronutrients contained in this diet as well as pre- and probiotics, to prevent age-related cognitive decline and reported the synergistic effects of these associations. Finally, we completed with benefits from dairy products that increase DHA incorporation.
Highlights
The world population grows every year and gets older as the life expectancy increases
These observations suggests that agedependent systemic changes can modulate neurogenesis and synaptic plasticity which can potentially contribute to the decline in regenerative capacity observed in the normal aging brain and constitute a new strategy to target age-related dysfunctions. These findings suggest that alterations in hippocampal synaptic plasticity, especially of Long-term potentiation (LTP), and neurogenesis may contribute to the age-related cognitive decline
The consumption of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) during aging is essential since it plays a key role for the reduction or resolution of chronic-low grade inflammation and the maintenance of brain’s plasticity
Summary
The world population grows every year and gets older as the life expectancy increases. Lifestyle, especially diet and nutrition, may have a direct impact to prevent age-related cognitive decline by affecting multiple brain processes since many clinical and preclinical studies have provided valuable data concerning the effect of dietary patterns and/or specific nutrients on cognitive function [10,11,12]. Results from n-3 PUFAs supplementation studies are conflicting either because of the insufficient anti-inflammatory properties of a single nutrient [25] or because of the high oxidative susceptibility of DHA, requiring the addition of antioxidants. Studies have demonstrated that probiotics and dairy products increase brain DHA content, possibly affecting cognitive decline [3034]. In this review, we focused on the interest of combining DHA and other micronutrients (vitamin A, D, E, polyphenols, pre- or probiotics) to prevent age-related cognitive decline. We exposed the interest of adding pre- or probiotics to DHA or to consume dairy products to increase DHA bioavailability
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