If you have a child with ADHD, it's a natural impulse to want to do anything at all to help. But the scientific data supporting fish oil's benefits is far from conclusive, and the research specific to pre-school age old children is scant. However, to better understand why some researchers think fish oil intervention is warranted, it's helpful to have basic knowledge of the role some fish oil components play in brain development. This information can help you and your doctor decide if fish oil is a good idea for your child.
ADHD Causes
ADHD symptoms manifest because the chemistry of the brain's communication system is malfunctioning. Researchers reporting in the April 1999 issue of the "Journal of Attention Disorders" described what goes wrong. Brain nerve cells are called neurons and they reside in a sort of nerve cell soup waiting for electrical signals to prompt them to connect in response to some external stimulus. The space between them is called a synapse. Brain chemicals called neurotransmitters carry the electrical signals. The hallmark symptom of ADHD is short attention span, and the neurotransmitter responsible for focusing attention is called dopamine.
What Goes Wrong
The primary structural components of nerve cell membranes are omega-3 fatty acids, which are the active components in fish oil that make it attractive as a potential ADHD treatment. In ADHD patients, the nerve cell membranes are omega-3 deficient, which causes them to malfunction as communication pathways. You may have heard of Ritalin. Ritalin is the most frequently prescribed medication for ADHD and its works by actually pushing dopamine across nerve cells to improve focus. Because the brain is still developing in youngsters, scientists have hoped that supplementing omega-3s will repair damaged nerve cells and reduce the need for medication.
Pre-School ADHD
According to an article published in the August 2007 issue of "ADDitude: Living with Attention Deficit Disorder," there is a paucity of research examining the benefits of fish oil for pre-schoolers with ADHD because ADHD was traditionally characterized as a disorder of elementary school children. Nonetheless, in recognition of the role of omega-3s in brain development, many studies have been performed showing benefits of supplementing maternal milk and infant formula with omega-3s in order to reduce the risk of developing ADHD. Studies show risk reduction of up to 67 percent.
Fish Oil Rivals Ritalin
Researchers reporting in the April 2007 issue of the "Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics" compared the effects of Ritalin to those of fish oil supplements. The authors recruited 132 ADHD children aged three to 12. The children were given daily fish oil supplements containing 3 g of omega-3s. Parents were asked to rate their child's condition and after 15 weeks, improvements were recorded in nine out of 14 behavioral measurements. Those measurements included: inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. According to the researchers, these results were slightly better than what would have been expected from Ritalin.
References
- "Journal of Attention Disorders"; Treatment Alternatives for Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder; Louis Arnold; April 1999
- "ADDitude: Living Well with ADD"; Preschool-Age ADHD Children: Too Young for a Diagnosis; Arlene Schusteff; August 2007
- "Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics"; Effect of Supplementation with Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and Micronutrients on Learning and Behavior Problems Associated with Child ADHD; Natalie Sinn and Janet Bryan; April 2007
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