Sleep quality in older adults should receive particular attention by clinicians because poor sleep quality can be an early sign of cognitive decline.

No abstract

Carrying the apoE e4 allele (E4þ ) is the most important genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease. Unlike non-carriers (E42 ), E4þ seem not to be protected against Alzheimer's disease when consuming fish. We hypothesised that this may be linked to a disturbance in n-3 DHA metabolism in E4þ. The aim of the present study was to evaluate [ 13 C]DHA metabolism over 28 d in E4þ v. E42. A total of forty participants (twenty-six women and fourteen men) received a single oral dose of 40 mg [ 13 C]DHA, and its metabolism was monitored in blood and breath over 28 d. Of the participants, six were E4þ and thirty-four were E42. In E4þ, mean plasma [ 13 C]DHA was 31 % lower than that in E42, and cumulative b-oxidation of [ 13 C]DHA was higher than that in E42 1-28 d post-dose (P#0·05). A genotype £ time interaction was detected for cumulative b-oxidation of [ 13 C]DHA (P#0·01). The whole-body half-life of [ 13 C]DHA was 77 % lower in E4þ compared with E42 (P#0·01). In E4þ and E42, the percentage dose of [ 13 C]DHA recovered/h as 13 CO 2 correlated with [ 13 C]DHA concentration in plasma, but the slope of linear regression was 117 % steeper in E4þ compared with E42 (P# 0·05). These results indicate that DHA metabolism is disturbed in E4þ, and may help explain why there is no association between DHA levels in plasma and cognition in E4þ. However, whether E4þ disturbs the metabolism of 13 C-labelled fatty acids other than DHA cannot be deduced from the present study.

No abstract