Predictors of Memory in Healthy Aging: Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Balance and Fornix White Matter Integrity

Abstract

Recent evidence demonstrates that age and disease-related decline in cognition depends not only upon degeneration in brain structure and function, but also on dietary intake and nutritional status. Memory, a potential preclinical marker of Alzheimer’s disease, is supported by white matter integrity in the brain and dietary patterns high in omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids. However, the extent to which memory is supported by specific omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, and the degree to which this relationship is reliant upon microstructure of particular white matter regions is not known. This study therefore examined the cross-sectional relationship between empirically-derived patterns of omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (represented by nutrient biomarker patterns), memory, and regional white matter microstructure in healthy, older adults. We measured thirteen plasma phospholipid omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, memory, and regional white matter microstructure in 94 cognitively intact older adults (65 to 75 years old). A three-step mediation analysis was implemented using multivariate linear regressions, adjusted for age, gender, education, income, depression status, and body mass index. The mediation analysis revealed that a mixture of plasma phospholipid omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids is linked to memory and that white matter microstructure of the fornix fully mediates the relationship between this pattern of plasma phospholipid polyunsaturated fatty acids and memory. These results suggest that memory may be optimally supported by a balance of plasma phospholipid omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids through the preservation of fornix white matter microstructure in cognitively intact older adults. This report provides novel evidence for the benefits of plasma phospholipid omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid balance on memory and underlying white matter microstructure.

Nutrient biomarkers shape individual differences in functional brain connectivity: Evidence from omega‐3 PUFAs

“…The research conducted in the present study is unique and complements prior research conducted from this cohort (Zamroziewicz & Barbey, 2016, 2018Zamroziewicz et al, 2015Zamroziewicz, Paul, et al, 2017a, 2016aZamroziewicz, Talukdar, Zwilling, & Barbey, 2017b;Zamroziewicz, Zwilling, & Barbey, 2016b). The research conducted in the present study is unique and complements prior research conducted from this cohort (Zamroziewicz & Barbey, 2016, 2018Zamroziewicz et al, 2015Zamroziewicz, Paul, et al, 2017a, 2016aZamroziewicz, Talukdar, Zwilling, & Barbey, 2017b;Zamroziewicz, Zwilling, & Barbey, 2016b).…”

“…The present study examined 96 healthy elderly adult patients from the Illinois Elderly Adult Cohort recruited through Carle Foundation Hospital. The research conducted in the present study is unique and complements prior research conducted from this cohort (Zamroziewicz & Barbey, 2016, 2018Zamroziewicz et al, 2015Zamroziewicz, Paul, et al, 2017a, 2016aZamroziewicz, Talukdar, Zwilling, & Barbey, 2017b;Zamroziewicz, Zwilling, & Barbey, 2016b). No participants were cognitively impaired, as defined by a score of lower than 26 on the Mini-Mental State Examination (Folstein, Folstein, & McHugh, 1975).…”

“…PUFAs on brain and cognition in elderly adults (Bos, van Montfort, Oranje, Durston, & Smeets, 2016;Kobe et al, 2016;McNamara, Asch, Lindquist, & Krikorian, 2018;Zamroziewicz, Paul, Rubin, & Barbey, 2015;Zamroziewicz, Paul, Zwilling, & Barbey, 2017a, 2018Zwilling et al, in press). This literature provides evidence for structural changes in gray matter volume within brain regions widely implicated in executive functions (frontal and parietal cortex), episodic memory (hippocampus), and emotion (amygdala).…”

Essential Amino Acids, Vitamins, and Minerals Moderate the Relationship between the Right Frontal Pole and Measures of Memory

“…All data were collected on a Siemens Magnetom 3T Trio scanner using a 32‐channel head coil in the MRI Laboratory of the Beckman Institute Biomedical Imaging Center at the University of Illinois. The MRI acquisition, preprocessing, and volumetric methods for this cohort have been described previously, but the details are restated here as follows.…”

Establishing a Comprehensive Anti-aging Research Center: Experiences and Challenges

“…The most immediate result of aging is an increase in the incidence of age-related diseases 1 . It is well known that chronic non-communicable diseases have been the major contributors to the disease burden, among which age-related diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer diseases have become the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] . Moreover, these diseases could not only affect the life quality of the elderly, but also the family members who take care them 10 .…”