Involvement of Microglia in Neurodegenerative Diseases: Beneficial Effects of Docosahexahenoic Acid (DHA) Supplied by Food or Combined with Nanoparticles

Neurodegenerative diseases represent a major public health issue and require better therapeutic management. The treatments developed mainly target neuronal activity. However, an inflammatory component must be considered, and microglia may constitute an important therapeutic target. Given the difficulty in developing molecules that can cross the blood–brain barrier, the use of food-derived molecules may be an interesting therapeutic avenue. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (22:6 omega-3), has an inhibitory action on cell death and oxidative stress induced in the microglia. It also acts on the inflammatory activity of microglia. These data obtained in vitro or…