Ricerc@Sapienza

Abstract
Background: In recent years, mechanistic, epidemiologic, and interventional studies have indicated beneficial
effects of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) against brain aging and age-related cognitive decline,
with the most consistent effects against Alzheimer’s disease (AD) confined especially in the early or prodromal
stages of the pathology.
In the present study, we investigated the action of n-3 PUFA supplementation on behavioral performances and

As major components of neuronal membranes, omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) exhibit a wide range of regulatory functions. Recent human and animal studies indicate that n-3 PUFA may exert beneficial effects on aging processes. Here we analyzed the neuroprotective influence of n-3 PUFA supplementation on behavioral deficits, hippocampal neurogenesis, volume loss, and astrogliosis in aged mice that underwent a selective depletion of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons.

In the last two decades, the scientific community has come to terms with the importance of non-neural acetylcholine in light of its multiple biological and pathological functions within and outside the nervous system. Apart from its well-known physiological role both in the central and peripheral nervous systems, in the autonomic nervous system, and in the neuromuscular junction, the expression of the acetylcholine receptors has been detected in different peripheral organs.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune and demyelinating disease of the central
nervous system. Although the etiology of MS is still unknown, both genetic and environmental
factors contribute to the pathogenesis of the disease. Acetylcholine participates in the modulation
of central and peripheral inflammation. The cells of the immune system, as well as microglia,
astrocytes and oligodendrocytes express cholinergic markers and receptors of muscarinic and