While past studies have shown fish oil may help deter Alzheimer’s disease, new research has emerged showing it may also help people stricken with the debilitating condition.

Fish oil supplements may help people with Alzheimer’s maintain a healthy weight by supplying the body with more omega-3 fatty acids, Reuters reports.

As the disease progresses, it’s been shown people begin to lose weight, possibly because of inflammation and the fidgeting characteristic of the disease, according to the article. It was also known that people with Alzheimer’s have a low level of omega-3 fatty acids in their system.

Because of this, Dr Gerd Faxen Irving of Stockholm led a study looking into whether supplementing fish oil would improve weight and appetite, states Reuters. Approximately 204 men and women with the condition participated in the six-month study with one group taking fish oil while the other took placebos.

At the end of six months, the patients in the fish oil group had gained one-and-a-half pounds while the weight of the placebo group remained the same. A year later, the fish oil group’s weight increase doubled to three pounds.