Omega-3 fatty acids for epilepsy - Literature Review & Commentary - Brief Article

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, Oct, 2002 by Alan R. Gaby

Five severely retarded patients (aged 12-26 years) with more than 3-4 grand mal seizures per month despite treatment with two or more anticonvulsants received 5 g/day of a bread spread at breakfast for six months. The spread contained 65% omega-3 fatty acids (46% DHA, 18% EPA, 1% alpha-linolenic acid). All five patients experienced a marked reduction in both frequency and severity of grand mal seizures; in three patients the seizures stopped completely, although one of these patients continued to have one petit mal seizure per week (compared with five per week before EFA treatment).

Comment: This preliminary trial suggests that supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids markedly reduced the incidence of grand mal seizures in some severely retarded individuals. Additional studies are needed to confirm these results and to determine whether other groups of epileptic patients will respond to this treatment. If the results can be confirmed, doctors will have a simple and apparently safe new therapeutic option for epilepsy, a condition that is sometimes difficult to treat.

Schlanger S, et al. Diet enriched with omega-3 fatty acids alleviates convulsion symptoms in epilepsy patients. Epilepsia 2002;43:103-104.