Brain trauma remains one of the most devastating injuries as there is virtually nothing to aid its healing. Recent focus on the long-term brain damage in former NFL players only confirms the tragic consequences of brain trauma induced by concussions. Now a new study by Dr. Sears indicates that a simple, cost-effective treatment may be at hand for brain trauma induced by concussion injury. A study published in the August issue of the prestigious Journal of Neurology has demonstrated that daily supplementation with OmegaRx after a concussion injury dramatically reduces the resulting neural damage. Co-author with Dr. Sears on this study was Dr. Julian Bailes, one of country’s top neurosurgeons and a leading expert in brain concussions. The study actually started almost four years ago when Dr. Sears and Dr. Bailes collaborated in the brain rehabilitation of Randall McCloy Jr., the sole survivor of the Sago Mine disaster. In this particular case, within 24 hours after being rescued from the mine, Randall was administered OmegaRx that Dr. Sears supplied. Four months later, Randall returned home with all of his organs, including his brain, functioning normally. Based on that success as well as success with several other patients, Dr. Sears’ non-profit research foundation funded an animal study in which brain concussions were induced in rats followed by daily fish oil supplementation. Those animals receiving the daily OmegaRx supplement for 30 days post injury had a 90-percent reduction in brain damage. It is hypothesized that the omega-3 fatty acids in the fish oil reduced the neural inflammation induced by the concussion injury.
One implication of this study is that any similar concussions (such as those in football) may be best treated with immediate fish oil supplementation at the appropriate dose needed to reduce brain inflammation.
ARTICLE ABSTRACT
Object Traumatic brain injury remains the most common cause of death in persons under 45 years of age in the Western world. Recent evidence from animal studies suggests that supplementation with omega-3 fatty acid (O3FA) (particularly eicosapentaenoic acid [EPA] and docosahexaenoic acid [DHA]) improves functional outcomes following focal neural injury. The purpose of this study is to determine the benefits of O3FA supplementation following diffuse axonal injury in rats.
Methods Forty adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were used. Three groups of 10 rats were subjected to an impact acceleration injury and the remaining group underwent a sham-injury procedure (surgery, but no impact injury). Two of the groups subjected to the injury were supplemented with 10 or 40 mg/kg/day of O3FA; the third injured group served as an unsupplemented control group. The sham-injured rats likewise received no O3FA supplementation. Serum fatty acid levels were determined from the isolated plasma phospholipids prior to the injury and at the end of the 30 days of supplementation. After the animals had been killed, immunohistochemical analysis of brainstem white matter tracts was performed to assess the presence of beta-amyloid precursor protein (APP), a marker of axonal injury. Immunohistochemical analyses of axonal injury mechanisms-including analysis for caspase-3, a marker of apoptosis; RMO-14, a marker of neurofilament compaction; and cytochrome c, a marker of mitochondrial injury-were performed.
Results Dietary supplementation with a fish oil concentrate rich in EPA and DHA for 30 days resulted in significant increases in O3FA serum levels: 11.6% +/- 4.9% over initial levels in the 10 mg/kg/day group and 30.7% +/- 3.6% in the 40 mg/kg/day group. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed significantly (p < 0.05) decreased numbers of APP-positive axons in animals receiving O3FA supplementation: 7.7 +/- 14.4 axons per mm(2) in the 10 mg/kg/day group and 6.2 +/- 11.4 axons per mm(2) in the 40 mg/kg/day group, versus 182.2 +/- 44.6 axons per mm(2) in unsupplemented animals. Sham-injured animals had 4.1 +/- 1.3 APP-positive axons per mm(2). Similarly, immunohistochemical analysis of caspase-3 expression demonstrated significant (p < 0.05) reduction in animals receiving O3FA supplementation, 18.5 +/- 28.3 axons per mm(2) in the 10 mg/kg/day group and 13.8 +/- 18.9 axons per mm(2) in the 40 mg/kg/day group, versus 129.3 +/- 49.1 axons per mm(2) in unsupplemented animals.
Conclusions Dietary supplementation with a fish oil concentrate rich in the O3FAs EPA and DHA increases serum levels of these same fatty acids in a dose-response effect. Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation significantly reduces the number of APP-positive axons at 30 days postinjury to levels similar to those in uninjured animals. Omega-3 fatty acids are safe, affordable, and readily available worldwide to potentially reduce the burden of traumatic brain injury.