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It has been suggested that cognitive decline in aging is the consequence of a growing vulnerability to an asymptomatic state of neuroinflammation. Moreover, it is becoming more evident that inflammation occurs in the brain of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients and that the classical mediators of inflammation, eicosanoids and cytokines, may contribute to the neurodegeneration. In agreement with this observation, aspirin (ASA) - a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug - may protect against AD and/or vascular dementia. However, both the time of prescription and the dose of ASA may be critical. A major indication for low-dose ASA is in combination with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). DHA plays an essential role in neural function and its anti-inflammatory properties are associated with the well-known ability of this fatty acid to inhibit the production of various pro-inflammatory mediators, including eicosanoids and cytokines. Higher DHA intake is inversely correlated with relative risk of AD and DHA+ASA supplement may further decrease cognitive decline in healthy elderly adults. Although low-dose ASA may be insufficient for any anti-inflammatory action the concomitant presence of DHA favours a neuroprotective role for ASA. This depends on the allosteric effects of ASA on cyclooxygenase-2 and following production - from DHA - of specific lipid mediators (resolvins, protectins, and electrophilic oxo-derivatives). ASA and DHA might protect against AD, although controlled trials are warranted.

Background and aims Impaired emotional facial expressiveness is an important feature in Parkinson's disease (PD). Although there is evidence of a possible relationship between reduced facial expressiveness and altered emotion recognition or imagery in PD, it is unknown whether other aspects of the emotional processing, such as subjective emotional experience (alexithymia), might influence hypomimia in this condition. In this study wee aimed to investigate possible relationship between reduced facial expressiveness and altered emotion processing (including facial recognition and alexithymia) in patients with PD. Methods Forty PD patients and seventeen healthy controls were evaluated. Facial expressiveness was rated on video recordings, according to the UPDRS-III item 19 and using an ad hoc scale assessing static and dynamic facial expression and posed emotions. Six blind raters evaluated the patients' videos. Emotion facial recognition was tested using the Ekman Test; alexithymia was assessed using Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). Results PD patients had a significantly reduced static and dynamic facial expressiveness and a deficit in posing happiness and surprise. They performed significantly worse than healthy controls in recognizing surprise (p = 0.03). The Ekman total score positively correlated with the global expressiveness (R^2 = 0.39, p = 0.01) and with the expressiveness of disgust (R^2 = 0.32, p = 0.01). The occurrence of alexithymia was not different between PD patients and HC; however, a significant negative correlation between the expressiveness of disgust was found for a subscore of TAS (R^2 = − .447, p = 0.007). Conclusions Reduced facial expressiveness in PD may be in part related to difficulties with emotional recognition in a context of an unimpaired subjective emotional experience.