Study Confirmed EPAX Formula Effective in Preventing Alzheimer's Patients' Memory Decline

25/10/07 The Omega-3 Alzheimer's Disease (OMEGAD) study that used an EPAX AS formula has been selected by The Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as one of the 25 best scientific articles in 2006.

This study showed that memory decline could be halted in patients with early-stage Alzheimer's dementia when given EPAX 1050 TG. This marine, DHA-enriched omega-3 formula has a favourable concentration and special composition of EPA/DHA fatty acids in relation to cognition and brain-related functions.

The OMEGAD study appears in the 2006 Annual Bibliography of Significant Advances in Dietary Supplement Research, published by the ODS and NIH, which highlights 25 of the most significant dietary supplement research advances of the past year. These papers were selected from approximately 300 articles that appeared in more than 45 peer-reviewed scientific journals.

In this double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 204 patients with early-stage Alzheimer's disease were randomised to receive either four capsules of EPAX 1050 TG or placebo for six months after which all received the omega-3 product for six more months. The subgroup, with mild cognitive dysfunction, showed a statistically significant reduction in memory decline compared with the placebo-treated group. When the patients in the placebo group were switched to treatment with EPAX 1050 TG for six months, they too exhibited significantly reduced memory decline.

In addition to memory decline, patients with Alzheimer's disease suffer from severe neuropsychiatric symptoms like agitation, hallucinations and depression. Another publication (Freund-Levi, Y et al., Int J Geriatr Psych 2007) from the same study examined possible effects on psychiatric symptoms, showed that EPAX 1050 TG also reduced these symptoms significantly compared with the placebo group.

"The results from the OMEGAD study are very promising and have initiated an additional study funded by the National Institutes of Health in the US, which investigates the effects of the omega-3 fatty acid DHA in slowing the progression of Alzheimer's disease," said Morten Bryhn, M.D., Ph.D., the clinical supervisor of the OMEGAD study.

"The recognition the OMEGAD study has received is well deserved by the research team," said Bjorn Refsum, EPAX AS CEO. "All the products EPAX AS offers are backed by human clinical trials, but this study was especially exciting because of the promise our formulas have for the Alzheimer's community. The National Institutes of Health noting that this study is one of the best of 2006 is additionally rewarding."