A diet high in omega-3, found in fish and some oils, can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s by 60 per cent, a study has claimed.
Even eating oily fish once a week can cut the risk of developing Alzheimer’s by a third, while eating fruit and vegetables every day reduces the chances of getting dementia in old age by almost 30 per cent.
An experimental form of gene therapy has given hope of a significant advance in the treatment of dementia.
The therapy, in which a nerve growth factor delayed the loss of brain cells, led to increased metabolic activity in the brain of Alzheimer’s sufferers and a reduction in the decline of cognitive functions.
Though the study was small, the subjects seemed to show indications of a reduction in the advancement of their disease, according to Prof Mark Tuszynski of the University of California, San Diego, the study’s principal investigator.