ADHD and Fatty Acids

A study shows that omega 3 and 6 supplements can help children who have ADHD.

Supplements of the fatty acids omega 3 and 6 can help children and adolescents who have a certain kind of ADHD. These are the findings of a dissertation at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, which also indicates that a special cognitive training program can improve problem behavior in children with ADHD.

Between three to six percent of all school age children are estimated to have ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). ADHD is a disorder that entails a difficulty controlling impulses and temper, sitting still, waiting, or being attentive for more than short periods at a time. There are various kinds of ADHD where disturbances in attention, hyperactivity and impulsivity have varying degrees of prominence.

ADHD is often treated with stimulant medications, which are effective for most, but do not work for everyone.

Relevant improvement

In this study, 75 children and adolescents with ADHD were given either the fatty acids omega 3 and 6 or a placebo over three months, and then they were all given omega 3/6 over three months. The study was conducted double-blind, which means that neither the researchers nor the participants were allowed to know whether they received the active capsules until afterwards.

"For the group as a whole, we did not see any major improvement, but in 35 percent of the children and adolescents who have the inattentive subtype of ADHD called ADD, the symptoms improved so much that we can talk about a clinically relevant improvement," says Mats Johnson, doctoral student at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg.

Cognitive training

The levels of omega 3 and omega 6 were also measured in blood samples, where those who had a clear improvement of their symptoms also showed a better balance between the blood levels of these two fatty acids.

The dissertation also indicates that a cognitive training method called Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) can be a good alternative or complement in the treatment of ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD).

Solving problematic situations

With this method the children and the family receives help in training cognitive ability and solving problematic situations. The study included 17 children, whose families received up to ten weeks of CPS sessions. The families were then asked how much the behavioral problems improved directly after the treatment as well as six months afterwards.

"Our study of CPS as a treatment for ADHD and ODD is the first in Sweden. All families in our study completed the treatment, and half of them experienced a large or very large improvement of the behavioral problems," says Mats Johnson.

Combination treatment

The patient group that still had severe ADHD symptoms when the CPS treatment was complete were given the opportunity to supplement treatment with stimulants medication. In the follow-up six months later, 81 percent of all of the participating families experienced a large or very large improvement.

According to Mats Johnson, this indicates that CPS can improve problem-creating behavior in children ADHD and ODD, and that children with severe ADHD symptoms can be improved with a combination of CPS and ADHD medication.

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Fish Oil Might Ease Tough-to-Treat Epilepsy

Interesting potential adjunct with few risks. JR

Fish Oil Might Ease Tough-to-Treat Epilepsy: Study

People taking the low-dose omega-3 supplements had fewer monthly seizures, but more research is needed

By Robert Preidt

HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, Sept. 8, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Low doses of fish oil may help reduce the number of seizures experienced by people with a form of tough-to-treat epilepsy that no longer responds to drugs, a small new study suggests.

The research was led by Dr. Christopher DeGiorgio, of the University of California, Los Angeles, and included 24 people with epilepsy that could no longer be controlled using medications.

One expert not connected to the study said many people with epilepsy remain without adequate treatment.

"Although medications remain the primary treatment for newly diagnosed epilepsy, more than 35 percent of patients continue to haveseizures despite taking antiepileptic drugs," said Dr. David Friedman, director of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center at Winthrop University Hospital in Mineola, N.Y.

Friedman said that in these cases, patients often resort to alternative treatments such as epilepsy surgeries, special diets or brain-stimulating devices. So the new study using a common nutrient is intriguing, he said.

In the study, the UCLA team gave the patients three separate treatments, each lasting 10 weeks and separated by a period of six weeks.

The treatments were: the "low-dose" intervention of three capsules offish oil (about 1,080 milligrams) a day plus three "dummy" capsules containing corn oil only; the "high-dose" involving six capsules of fish oil a day, and a placebo treatment of three capsules of corn oil taken twice a day.

The average number of seizures while taking the low dose of fish oil was about 12 a month, compared with just over 17 when taking a high dose of fish oil, and just over 18 when taking the corn oil only.

Two people were completely free of seizures while taking a low dose of fish oil. This did not occur while patients were taking a high dose of fish oil or corn oil....

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Omega-3 makes ADHD symptoms less severe in rats

A study shows that rats when eating more omega-3 fatty acids reduce their ADHD symptoms.

A new multidisciplinary study shows a clear connection between the intake of omega-3 fatty acids and a decline in ADHD symptoms in rats.

Researchers at the University of Oslo have observed the behaviour of rats and have analyzed biochemical processes in their brains. The results show a clear improvement in ADHD-related behaviour from supplements of omega-3 fatty acids, as well as a faster turnover of the signal substances dopamine, serotonin and glutamate in the nervous system. There are, however, clear sex differences: a better effect from omega-3 fatty acids is achieved in male rats than in female.

Unknown biology behind ADHD

Currently the psychiatric diagnosis ADHD (Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) is purely based on behavioural criteria, while the molecular genetic background for the illness is largely unknown. The new findings indicate that ADHD has a biological component and that the intake of omega-3 may influence ADHD symptoms.

"In some research environments it is controversial to suggest that ADHD has something to do with biology. But we have without a doubt found molecular changes in the brain after rats with ADHD were given omega-3," says Ivar Walaas, Professor of Biochemistry.

The fact that omega-3 can reduce ADHD behaviour in rats has also been indicated in previous international studies. What is unique about the study in question is a multidisciplinarity that has not previously been seen, with contributions from behavioural science in medicine as well as from psychology, nutritional science and biochemistry.

Hyperactive rats

The rats used in the study are called SHR rats -- spontaneously hypertensive rats. Although this is primarily a common type of rat, random mutations in their genes have resulted in genetic damage that produces high blood pressure. It is therefore first and foremost blood-pressure researchers who have so far been interested in these rats.

However, the rats do not suffer from high blood pressure until they have reached puberty. Before that age they present totally different symptoms -- namely hyperactivity, poor ability to concentrate and impulsiveness. It is exactly these three criteria that form the basis for making the ADHD diagnosis in humans. The animals also react to Ritalin, the central nervous system stimulant, in the same way as humans with ADHD: the hyperactive responses are stabilized. SHR rats are therefore increasingly used in research as a model for ADHD.

Supplements as early as the fetal stage

Researchers believe that omega-3 can have an effect from the very beginning of life. Omega-3 was therefore added to the food given to mother rats before they were impregnated, and this continued throughout their entire pregnancy and while they fed their young. The baby rats were also given omega-3 in their own food after they were separated from their mother at the age of 20 days. Another group of mother rats were given food that did not have omega-3 added, thus creating a control group of SHR offspring that had not been given these fatty acids at the fetal stage or later.

The researchers started to analyze the behaviour of the offspring some days after they were separated from the mother. They studied behaviour driven by reward as well as spontaneous behaviour. Substantial differences were noted for both types of behaviour between the rats that had been given the omega-3 supplement as foetuses and as baby rats and those that had not.

Rewards made male rats more concentrated

The reward-driven behaviour was such that the rats were allowed access to a drop of water each time they pressed an illuminated button. The ADHD rats that had not been given omega-3 could not concentrate on pressing the button, whereas the rats that had been brought up on omega-3 easily managed to hold their concentration for the seconds this takes and were able to enjoy a delicious drop of water as a reward.

Surprisingly enough, it was only male rats that showed an improvement in reward-driven behaviour. However, with regard to the rats' spontaneous behavior, the same type of reduction in hyperactivity and attention difficulties was noted in both male and female rats that had been given the omega-3 supplement.

Changes in brain chemistry

Professor Walaas and his research group became involved in the study at this point in order to analyze the molecular processes in the rats' brains.

The group analyzed the level of the chemical connections in the brain, the so-called neurotransmitters that transfer nerve impulses from one nerve cell to another. The researchers measured how much of the neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin and glutamate was released and broken down within the nerve fibres. A key player in this work was Kine S. Dervola, PhD candidate, who reports clear sex differences in the turnover of the neurotransmitters -- just as there had been in the reward-driven behaviour.

"We saw that the turnover of dopamine and serotonin took place much faster among the male rats that had been given omega-3 than among those that had not. For serotonin the turnover ratio was three times higher, and for dopamine it was just over two and a half times higher. These effects were not observed among the female rats. When we measured the turnover of glutamate, however, we saw that both sexes showed a small increase in turnover," Ms Dervola tells us.

Transferrable to humans?

The researchers are cautious about drawing conclusions as to whether the results can be transferred to humans.

"In the first place there is of course a difference between rats and humans, and secondly the rats are sick at the outset. Thirdly the causes of ADHD in humans are in no way mapped sufficiently well. But the end result of what takes place in the brains of both rats and humans with ADHD is hyperactivity, poor ability to concentrate and impulsiveness," says Professor Walaas, and concludes:

"Giving priority to basic research like this will greatly increase our detailed knowledge of ADHD."

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