Efficacy of Fish Oil Supplementation on Cognition in MCI Patients and the Influence of the APOE4 Allele

Challenge Study: The Efficacy of Fish Oil Supplementation on Cognitive Performance in MCI Patients and the Influence of the APOE-epsilon4 Allele

To study the short term effects of a pharmacological dose of fish oil on cognitive performance and on cerebral blood flow. Furthermore, we want to investigate whether carriers of the APOEε4 allele respond differently to fish oil treatment compared to non-carriers.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Men and women
• Diagnosed as having amnestic MCI: based on specific memory disturbances (cut-off of 1 sd, single or multiple domain amnestic MCI, according to Busse A et al37)
• Presence of a principal caregiver willing to assist for a successful participation
• Informed consent signed

Exclusion Criteria:

• Current or recent (<4 weeks) use of fish oil supplements
• Consumption of fish more than 2 times/week
• Current use of dementia (Alzheimer) medication
• Current use of acenocoumarol or other anti-thrombotic drugs (because of the high dose of fish oil)
• Serious liver disease
• Use of more than 4 glasses of alcohol per day
• Unable to participate as judged by the responsible medical physician
• Allergy to fish(oil)
• Swallowing problems
• Participation in another clinical trial less than 2 months before the start of the trial or at the same time