ARTICLES OF INTEREST

FISH OIL IN THE TREATMENT OF BIPOLAR DISORDER

Omega-3 fatty acid improves mood in animal model of bipolar disease and alcoholism. An article published online on April 26, 2011 in the journal Translational Psychiatry reports the discovery of researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine of a beneficial role for the omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in mood, bipolar disease and alcohol abuse.

Associate professor of psychiatry Alexander B. Niculescu, MD, PhD and his associates gave diets containing low or high amounts of DHA to a group of mice bred to develop bipolar disease symptoms, including depression and a manic response to stress. Behavioral challenge tests were administered three weeks after the beginning of the experiment.

"The mice that were given DHA normalized their behavior, they are not depressed and when subjected to stress, they do not become manic," Dr Niculescu reported. "When we looked into their brains, using comprehensive gene expression studies, we were surprised to see that genes that are known targets of psychiatric medications were modulated and normalized by DHA."

Mice that received the high DHA diet additionally exhibited a reduction in their desire for alcohol, a finding that was duplicated in a separate experiment with rats. "These bipolar mice, like some bipolar patients, love alcohol," Dr Niculescu explained. "The mice on DHA drank much less; it curtailed their alcohol abusive behavior.

"We believe a diet rich in omega 3 fatty acids may help the treatment and prevention of bipolar disorder, and may help with alcoholism as well," he concluded. "There is now substantial evidence at the molecular level that omega-3 fatty acids work on the brain in ways similar to psychiatric drugs. With these biomarker findings, we can now move forward as a field and do more targeted clinical studies in humans."

Order your Omega 3's with increased DHA direct from Dr. Horton.

CONTACT US regarding this information

TOP OF PAGE