Mediterranean diet and cognitive decline: what role for omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids?

Cognitive decline is amajor threat to the quality of life of older persons. In the absence of efficient medical treatment, several potential paths for prevention are currently investigated, among which diet raises increasing interest. Higher adherence to a Mediterraneantype diet is associated with lower risks of cardiovascular mortality (Sofi et al., 2008), coronary heart disease (Buckland et al., 2009), and overweight (Beunza et al., 2010) which are wellknown risk factors of cognitive decline and dementia (Fotuhi et al., 2009). Accordingly, several observational studies have also evidenced a link between adherence to a Mediterranean diet and better cognitive performances (Feart et al., 2010). The aim of this paper is to summarize these findings and to examine whether these protective effects might be mediated by polyunsaturated fatty acids of the omega-3 series (n-3 PUFA).