http://www.healthsentinel.com/news.php?event=news_print_list_item&id=786
"Fatty acids may help kids' behavior problems", Reuters, May 2, 2005,
Link:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=8363522
Dietary supplementation with omega-3 and other fatty acids appears to
reduce the educational and behavioral problems of children with a
condition termed developmental coordination disorder (DCD), UK
researchers report.
"In DCD children, supplementing their diet with mainly omega-3 fatty
acids led to highly significant improvements in their reading, spelling
and behavior," lead investigator Dr. Alexandra J. Richardson of the
University of Oxford told Reuters Health.
Moreover, symptoms typical of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,
"including difficulties in attention and concentration as well as
hyperactivity and impulsivity, fell markedly," Richardson continued. In
fact, the benefit of the supplements seemed to be similar to that
usually achieved by stimulant medication.
Richardson and co-investigator Dr. Paul Montgomery, also at the
University of Oxford, studied 117 children with DCD, who were between 5
and 12 years of age. The kids were randomly assigned to dietary
supplementation with omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids or inactive
placebo capsules.
After three months, the placebo group crossed over to active treatment
for another three months.
The results, reported in the medical journal Pediatrics, support those
from an earlier pilot study of by Richardson, involving children with
dyslexia and attention deficit-type symptoms.
"Our research in this area as mainly focused on the omega-3 fatty acids
found in fish and seafood," Richardson explained, "because they are
absolutely essential for brain development and function, but are often
relatively lacking from modern diets in developed countries."
"It is now very important," the researcher concluded, "to see whether
the same results could be achieved with dietary interventions in other
children with behavior problems attending mainstream schools."
However, she added, "Our next research studies are essentially on hold
until we can find further money to continue with this work."
SOURCE: Pediatrics, May 2005.