In this study, the effect of krill oil on cognitive function in elderly subjects using near-infrared spectroscopy and electroencephalography was evaluated. The study design was randomized, double-blind, and parallelgroup comparative. Forty-five healthy elderly males aged 61-72 years were assigned to receive 12 weeks of treatment with: medium-chain triglycerides as placebo, krill oil, which is rich in n-3 PUFAs incorporated in phosphatidylcholine, or sardine oil, which is abundant in n-3 PUFAs incorporated in triglycerides. Changes in oxyhemoglobin concentrations in the cerebral cortex during memory and calculation tasks were measured. The P300 component of event-related potentials was also measured during a working memory task. The results showed that during the working memory task, changes in oxyhemoglobin concentrations in the krill oil and sardine groups were significantly greater than those in the medium-chain triglycerides group at week 12. The differential value for P300 latency in the krill oil group was significantly lower than in the medium-chain triglyceride group at week 12. In the calculation task, changes in the oxyhemoglobin concentrations in the krill oil group were significantly greater than those in the medium-chain triglyceride group at week 12. The authors conclude that n-3 PUFAs activate cognitive function in the elderly, especially with krill oil. Clin Interv Aging. 2013. PMID: 24098072.
