Trying to understand the Brain Blood Barrier

[FitFoodie]

I started frequenting this board because I have high HDL and LDL cholesterol (but good ratio and good triglycerides) and my mother has late-onset Alzheimer's. I figure I have one copy of the apoe4 gene, because of the above details, and because two of my three kids also have high cholesterol despite all three having about the same diet. I'm getting closer to being emotionally up for testing... and I'll definitely do it by perimenopause, so I can make an educated decision about hormone replacement therapy.

In the meantime, I am trying to reduce my risks in as many ways as possible: keep anxiety under control, exercise (I love exercise, no problem here), social and intellectual stimulation (working, reading, hanging with people), and diet. On the latter front, I cut out refined sugar and animal fat except for fish and omega-3 eggs. I always ate a ton of leafy greens, nuts, turmeric, and now I also eat lots of berries.

Anyway, I'm trying to better understand the issue of the Brain Blood Barrier (BBB) and the Apoe4 gene, specifically because of these dietary changes. I've read here that people with the apoe4 gene don't access DHA easily across the BBB, and that consuming it in phospholipid form helps.

I was thinking of buying this which I saw was used in a study.
EDITED: I'm not sure this link is to a legit product. I looked closer. 1 review. Doesn't specify the same product categories as the company website (romega 30 premium, romega 50...etc) AND there's a typo in the url.
I sent the company an email to ask if this was their product/if they sell on amazon.


So here's my BBB question:

I've been on an asthma/allergy medication that's a leukotriene inhibitor, montelukast sodium aka Singulair for over a decade. Knowing that some asthma meds are now implicated in increased dementia risk due to being anticholinergic (benadryl, tiotropium bromide), I googled "singulair and dementia."

https://www.alzforum.org/therapeutics/montelukast

Looks like it's in clinical trials to be repurposed for delaying the onset of dementia and improving symptoms of cognitive impairment. This made me eager to stay on it -- but then I also read that it can decrease BBB permeability.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19484631

Is that good or bad? Can the DHA I eat ever get to my brain? There are so many variables. I'm curious what you think.

[BrianR]

Have you seen the Rhonda Patrick paper Role of phosphatidylcholine-DHA in preventing APOE4-associated Alzheimer’s disease in which she discusses [abstracting from the Abstract] "I propose that APOE4 carriers have impaired brain transport of free DHA but not of DHA-lysoPC, as a consequence of a breakdown in the outer membrane leaflet of the BBB, putting them at increased risk for AD. Dietary sources of DHA in phospholipid form may provide a means to increase plasma levels of DHA-lysoPC, thereby decreasing the risk of AD."

[BrianR]

I've been on an asthma/allergy medication that's a leukotriene inhibitor, montelukast sodium aka Singulair for over a decade. Knowing that some asthma meds are now implicated in increased dementia risk due to being anticholinergic (benadryl, tiotropium bromide), I googled "singulair and dementia."

Adding a quote so FitFoodie will see my response, even though it didn't really address the question.

[FitFoodie]

Thanks for replying, Brian. I had seen that research. I guess it's a pretty good idea to get as much DHA in phospholipid form as I can whether through food or supplements.

I suppose also in the ideal scenario, Singulair is repairing my brain blood barrier a bit and allowing some of the other DHA through too. To put it very optimistically lol