Autism and omega-3 fatty acids
Last Updated Aug 2007
Autism is one of the worst nightmares a family can have. The child regresses in
social interaction and language skills and develops highly restrictive behavior
patterns along with serious behavioral disturbances, including self-injury,
aggression and tantrums. No one knows the cause, but the incidents appear to be
increasing. It has long been known that children with autism have lower levels of
omega-3 fatty acids in their blood, but no one had ever conducted the obvious
clinical trial of giving autistic children omega-3 fatty acids to see if any
benefit would occur. That is until now. A recent issue of Biological Psychiatry
(2007;61:551-553) published a small pilot study on omega-3 fatty acid
supplementation in autistic children. In this study 1.5 grams of EPA and DHA were
used per day for six weeks. Of the all the parameters studied, it was only in the
reduction of hyperactivity that a positive trend was found for those taking the
omega-3 fatty acids compared to the placebo. This is one of the problems of using
low doses of omega-3 fatty acids for neurological conditions. For example, we have
found using much higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids (nearly 10 times the amount
of EPA and DHA as in this study) results in significant clinical improvement in all
phases of hyperactivity in children with ADHD. The implication is that for
children with autism, high levels of EPA and DHA may be required for significant
behavioral changes to occur. However, that is a small price to pay for getting
your child back.