CHEAP SUPPLEMENT COULD HELP COMBAT DEMENTIA MOTOR NEURONE DISEASE

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A supplement costing mere pennies per pill on the High Street could help protect people from debilitating dementia and motor neurone disease, research suggests. 

Scientists discovered omega-3 fats, naturally found in oily fish, nuts and seeds but also available in capsules, helped combat the conditions and boosted survival.

In the study scientists examined the brain cells of people with motor neurone disease (MND) and frontotemporal dementia, a form of the memory robbing disorder that typically strikes younger people.

They also experimented on fruit flies carrying a genetic mutation called C9orf72 which increases the risk of both conditions in humans.

Experts, led by the UK Dementia Research Institute and the University College London, found the insects with gene had lower levels of omega-3 fatty acids.

They then fed the flies  fatty acid supplements and found this boosted their survival slightly.

Scientists then took this one step further and injected fatty acids directly into the brain cells of the insects.

This boosted the flies' lifespan from just 15 days to 27.5 days, an increase of 83 per cent. 

Experts, who published their findings in the journal Nature Neuroscience, repeated the experiment on the human brain cells of MND and frontotemporal dementia patients and found this also prolonged their survival. 

Study leader Professor Adrian Isaacs, from the UK Dementia Research Institute, said the next step is to test the results in real patients. 

'We first need to work out which specific fatty acid would be best to test in humans, and how we can deliver sufficient quantities to the brain. Then, we want to take these findings forward into a clinical trial,' he said. 

The researchers also suggested the findings may also have implications for other neurodegenerative diseases.

Dr Julia Dudley, head of research at Alzheimer's Research UK, said: 'With nearly one million people living with dementia in the UK, there is an urgent need to understand and treat the diseases that cause this condition, including rarer forms.

'Neurodegenerative diseases are complex, however some share similar genetic changes.

'This means that understanding how these changes affect the brain could ultimately lead to new treatment approaches for dementia.

'It is exciting to see findings which suggest that increasing levels of fatty acids, including omega-3 could be protective against motor neuron disease and frontotemporal dementia.

'We are excited to see the next steps for this research which we hope will play a key role in bringing us closer to a cure.'

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a rare form of the condition which accounts for around one in 30 dementia cases in the UK. 

Talk show host Wendy Williams and recently Die Hard star Bruce Willis, are famous faces who have suffered from FTD. 

FTD is considered by experts to be the leading cause of 'young-onset’ dementia where the disorder develops before the age of 65. 

Experts warn this can frequently lead to a delayed diagnosis for FTD sufferers, with many medics not suspecting younger patients could have the condition.

Dementia affects an estimated one million people in the UK and has a variety of causes, such as Alzheimer's disease and reduced blood flow to the brain following a stroke, known as vascular dementia and FTD. 

MND, including its most common subtype amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), affects around one in 300 people in their lifetime and cannot be cured.

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2025-02-25T10:46:40Z