Investigators at the University of Toronto, Canada studied the effects of chronic dietary supplementation with omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) derived from fish oil on seizure thresholds in the amygdala as well as on blood and brain PUFA levels in 60-day-old rats. The acute effects of omega-3 PUFAs-eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) were also tested in laboratory rats with experimental pentylenetetrazol seizures. Fish oil supplementation significantly increased amygdaloid afterdischarge thresholds after 3, 5, and 7 months treatment. Fish oil supplementation also increased serum EPA and DHA concentrations. DHA significantly increased the latency to seizure onset in the pentylenetetrazol seizure model, whereas EPA had no significant effect. [1]
COMMENT. Omega-3 PUFAs raise the seizure threshold in animals, but several months dietary supplementation may be required to demonstrate an effect in humans.