This was posted by T. Carter on sci.life-extension.
This is a subject dear to montygram's heart. Any criticisms Monty?

MikeV

Fish oil supplements slow ageing of brain
12/21/2004 - People who eat oily fish or take fish oil supplements
score 13 per cent higher in IQ tests and are less likely to show
early
signs of Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study in Scotland.
The study, carried out on more than 300 people, lends support to the
benefits of fish oil - already taken to protect the heart - for
mental
health and particularly for its protective effects against
Alzheimer's.
Dementia already affects millions around the world and the threat is
increasing with the growing numbers of elderly. Alzheimer's disease,
the leading cause of dementia in the elderly, afflicts an estimated
4.5
million people in the US alone.
A team from the University of Aberdeen and the University of
Edinburgh
gathered data from people who had taken part in a national IQ survey
in
1947, when they were aged 11, and tested them again in 2000-01 when
they were aged 64. The researchers used a questionnaire to find out
about omega-3 levels from the subjects' diet and supplement use, and
tested their plasma levels of omega-3.
Writing in this month's American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (vol
80, no 6, pp1650-1657), the researchers report that cognitive
function
in the 64-year-olds was higher if they were supplement users than if
they did not take supplements.
After adjustment for childhood IQ, tests for mental speed found food
supplement users to have a higher score.
Lawrence Whalley, a professor of mental health at Aberdeen
University
and head of the research team, told The Times that there was
evidence
that fish oils slow the ageing of the brain by reducing
inflammation.
"The big difference we found was not in memory but in mental
speed," he told the paper. "The brains of fish oil users seemed to
be faster. There was a strong relationship between mental test
scores
and the omega-3 content in the blood."
"The results suggest to me that they have younger brains than the
non-users. The ageing of their brain is being slowed down by a year
or
two.".................
       Theoretical considerations give cause for concern that the
highly unsaturated nature of fish oil makes it a target for ROS and
thus a pro-aging factor despite its proven beneficial effects on
coronary function and other probable benefits. This study allays
those
fears some for me.

Thomas