Low-doses of fish oil may reduce seizures in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy

An estimated 3 million Americans suffer from epileptic seizures. Although drug therapies often successfully dampen the out-of-control neural firing that produces seizures, such drugs don’t work for everyone. A new study by researchers at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA suggests that for such patients, improvement might come in the form of a few capsules of fish oil. The small, randomized, controlled study, published Sept. 8 in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry (JNNP), shows that low doses of omega-3 fatty acids — the key component in common fish-oil capsules — may help decrease the frequency of epileptic seizures for people who haven’t been helped by drug treatments. In the study, just three capsules of fish oil a day — around 1080 mg of omega-3 fatty acids — were found to significantly reduce the incidence of seizures in patients with so-called drug-resistant epilepsy. The finding comes in stark contrast to previous studies using high doses of omega-3s that showed no clear beneficial effects. Those earlier, negative results were surprising because omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to cross into the central nervous system and to block calcium and sodium channels in nerve cells, thus preventing the repetitive firing of the cells that causes seizures. “The blockade of these channels — especially sodium channels — is the basis for many antiepileptic drugs, like lamotrigine, lacosamide, and carbamazepine,” said Christophe...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news