For those with tantrums, aggression, stereotypy, hyperactivity

[momto2pandas]

As some of you may know, my research field for many years now has been cytokine modulating drugs/therapies. Anyway, I was doing some background research on the effects of omega-3 fatty acids on cytokine modulation in prep for an upcoming project, and happened to come across the following article. Some of you may have seen this already but I hadn't, though I had seen a lot of these kinds of trials for ADHD, bipolar, etc. My kids don't have significant behaviors of this type (we have one-sentence rages, mostly "I DON'T WANT TO GET DRESSED!") but I recall seeing a lot of descriptions of it on this board and thoughts about it being autistic spectrum. Something to think about.

 

Note that the raito of EPA/DHA given in such studies is thought to be vitally important (as well as a high enough dose).

 

 

 

Biol Psychiatry. 2007 Feb 15;61(4):551-3

 

Omega-3 Fatty Acids Supplementation in Children with Autism: A Double-blind Randomized, Placebo-controlled Pilot Study.

Amminger GP, Berger GE, Schafer MR, Klier C, Friedrich MH, Feucht M.

 

Department of Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; ORYGEN Research Centre, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.

 

BACKGROUND: There is increasing evidence that fatty acid deficiencies or imbalances may contribute to childhood neurodevelopmental disorders. METHODS: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled 6-week pilot trial investigating the effects of 1.5 g/d of omega-3 fatty acids (.84 g/d eicosapentaenoic acid, .7 g/d docosahexaenoic acid) supplementation in 13 children (aged 5 to 17 years) with autistic disorders accompanied by severe tantrums, aggression, or self-injurious behavior. The outcome measure was the Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC) at 6 weeks. RESULTS: We observed an advantage of omega-3 fatty acids compared with placebo for hyperactivity and stereotypy, each with a large effect size. Repeated-measures ANOVA indicated a trend toward superiority of omega-3 fatty acids over placebo for hyperactivity. No clinically relevant adverse effects were elicited in either group. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study provide preliminary evidence that omega-3 fatty acids may be an effective treatment for children with autism.

 

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