Fish oil and omega 3s - who uses it?
 

Comparing notes with Fiona in another thread has led to the question of fish oil and PD. I seem to be benefiting greatly from it at a dose of a tablespoon per day. Has anyone else used it regularly, at what dose, and what benefit?

I had assumed that there was enough research on it to answer the question of its basic benefit but was surprised that "PD + fish oil" only turned up nineteen hits. Once again, a basic question has gone unasked. Here was the most recent one-


1: J Nutr. 2008 Dec;138(12):2521-2.

(n-6) and (n-3) Polyunsaturated fatty acids and the aging brain: food for
thought.

Whelan J.

Department of Nutrition, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-1920, USA.
jwhelan@utk.edu

Over the last decade, the role of dietary PUFA in growth, development, and
cognitive function in the infant has been a topic at numerous national and
international meetings. Only recently has the role of PUFA been more seriously
examined as they relate to the aging brain. In fact, a search of the literature
reveals very few randomized control trials exploring this research area. However,
the literature reveals growing mechanistic evidence that cognitive function of
the aging brain can be preserved, or loss of function can be diminished with
docosahexaenoic acid, a long-chain (n-3) PUFA. Furthermore, no symposia have
taken a serious look at the impact of (n-6) PUFA on the brain, in particular
arachidonic acid (AA), the most highly concentrated (n-6) PUFA in the brain. This
symposium explores the role of AA metabolism in the brain as it relates to
neurological mood disorders. To that end, this symposium was designed to
highlight the potential effects of dietary PUFA on the adult brain, an important
issue given the growing elderly population in this country and the growing
problems with neurological disorders (dementia, Alzheimer disease, Parkinson
disease, bipolar disorders, etc.).


PMID: 19022982 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...ubmed_RVDocSum

Getting more interesting
 

This was hit number two and comment follows-


1: Neurosci Res. 2008 Nov;62(3):206-9. Epub 2008 Aug 3.

Restorative effects of uridine plus docosahexaenoic acid in a rat model of
Parkinson's disease.

Cansev M, Ulus IH, Wang L, Maher TJ, Wurtman RJ.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Brain and Cognitive
Sciences, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

Administering uridine-5'-monophosphate (UMP) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)
increases synaptic membranes (as characterized by pre- and post-synaptic
proteins) and dendritic spines in rodents. We examined their effects on
rotational behavior and dopaminergic markers in rats with partial unilateral
6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-induced striatal lesions. Rats receiving UMP, DHA,
both, or neither, daily, and intrastriatal 6-OHDA 3 days after treatment onset,
were tested for d-amphetamine-induced rotational behavior and dopaminergic
markers after 24 and 28 days, respectively. UMP/DHA treatment reduced ipsilateral
rotations by 57% and significantly elevated striatal dopamine, tyrosine
hydroxylase (TH) activity, TH protein and synapsin-1 on the lesioned side. Hence,
giving uridine and DHA may partially restore dopaminergic neurotransmission in
this model of Parkinson's disease.

PMCID: PMC2592845 [Available on 2009/11/01]
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...ubmed_RVDocSum

DHA is the major ingredient in fish oil. Uridine has many sources. From Wikipedia-
"Uridine is found in a variety of foods. Sugarcane extract is rich in nucleosides, especially uridine.[2] Tomatoes also (about 500-1000 mg. of uridine per kilogram of dry matter).[3]

Brewer's yeast is also a good source of uridine, as yeast is high in RNA (ribonucleic acid), which after digestion is broken down into ribosyl pyrimidines (uridine and cytidine), which are absorbed intact [4]. About 3 percent of yeast (dry weight) results in digestion uridine products. This assumes the usual 9% RNA content found in Brewer's yeast. Alternatively, drinking beer also results in increased plasma uridine [5]. The ingestion of one liter of beer results in increased plasma uridine at a level that is comparable to those reached after ingestion of CDP-choline (citicoline) (as in [6], the increase is measured as a percent change relative to baseline plasma uridine). Alternative uridine/cytidine sources include other high RNA foods such as organ meats (liver, pancreas, etc) or broccoli [7]. High RNA foods may result in high blood purine levels, which may increase uric acid production in humans, which may aggravate conditions such as gout. Because of this, it has been suggested that the RNA content of yeast products should be chemically reduced if these products are to be consumed in high amounts as a source of protein (50 grams or more per day). However, such processing is expensive, and as of today (2008), it seems that commonly available Brewer's yeast products are not RNA-reduced. Consumption of moderate amounts of yeast (5 grams per day) should provide enough uridine for improved health, while minimizing possible side effects such as increased uric acid production."

So, white rats, stir yourself! :D

And one more
 

1: Curr Opin Investig Drugs. 2008 Jul;9(7):735-43.

The emerging role of docosahexaenoic acid in neuroinflammation.

Orr SK, Bazinet RP.

University of Toronto, Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine,
FitzGerald Building, 150 College Street, Room 306, Toronto, ON M5S 3E2, Canada.

Epidemiological studies have linked fish consumption to lower rates of
neurological diseases. Fish contains high levels of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty
acids (n-3 PUFA), and several lines of evidence suggest that the n-3 PUFA
docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6n-3) acts in the brain via anti-apoptotic and
neurotrophic pathways. In addition, DHA may act through anti-neuroinflammatory
pathways, as DHA possesses anti-inflammatory properties in the periphery.
Evidence from animal models has indicated that DHA and its derivatives (resolvin
D1 and protectin D1) attenuate colitis, peritonitis and ischemic stroke. n-3 PUFA
deprivation in rats decreases brain levels of DHA and increases markers of the
brain arachidonic acid (20:4n-6) cascade, a proinflammatory pathway. Thus,
chronic low intake of n-3 PUFA may predispose the brain to weak
anti-inflammatory, as well as strong proinflammatory signals. Neurological
disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and major
depression, display a neuroinflammatory component. n-3 PUFA supplementation, as
well as drugs targeting brain PUFA metabolism, are promising candidates in the
prevention and treatment of neurological disorders.


PMID: 18600579 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...ubmed_RVDocSum

What about Hemp Oil? I haven't tried it, but was told that it would be very beneficial for PD, because of the right balance of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids.

Hi Rick,
I take Dr. Mercola's Krill Oil for Women (it has evening primrose in it as well.)
I take just the recommended dose of 3,000 mgs. daily. However, I have been doing that on and off for quite a while.. but maybe now in combination with the other things I've been doing?....again, not sure. I do feel that the low dose naltrexone seems to have helped things along significantly, even though it's not supposed to be that remarkable symptomatically.

ldn
 

"I do feel that the low dose naltrexone seems to have helped things along significantly, even though it's not supposed to be that remarkable symptomatically.[/QUOTE]"

Fiona, I think LDN is quite significant and remarkable symptomatically. First, U of Pittsburg, I believe it is, has demonstrated a near cure of Crohn's disease using LDN.

Then, it is being used, with pretty incredible results, in the MS community...so much so, that they self-funded their own clinical trial, and it seems to be holding up to scrutiny (just read posts on MS forums and people have gotten their lives back due to LDN).

Then third, there is PD....several posters here have shown either symptomatic improvement and/or no progression since starting LDN, AshleyK comes to mind, and no one can tell me that a lack of progression over a four year period is placebo! I wish we experienced the same lack of progression, but we haven't. What we did notice, however, is that LDN helps with sleep, and then more ambiguously, we couldn't get LDN for a couple of weeks due to a series of mix-ups/comedy of errors (actually not so funny, we needed to get the LDN!) and experienced a notable downstep during that time. I can't really articulate it, but things got worse. So LDN definitely does something, it just does it at different rates for different people.

Thanks for sharing your improvement as well as what your regime is, and I am so glad you are doing better, especially after 18 years, inspiring to many people, I know.

Rick, did you see this recent article? It was in the Headline News forum. I copied it to PD.

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...ad.php?t=84966

fish oil
 

Husband takes 2800 mgm omega 3's/day--2 capsules in Am and 2 in PM--each capsule contains 420 mgm EPA and 300 mgm DHA. Reason for such a large dose--suggested by neurologist who consults for individuals who have taken statins and feel they are implicated in the onset of their PD .

Lurkingforacure?
 

Lurking..., I just read your post on this thread and I'm not sure if I understand what you said in your 4th paragraph. Are you or someone you know also taking LDN? If so, could you expand on what you said?
I also have been taking fish oil for about a year, off and on. Maybe always after reading reports here.
Ashley

we have progressed, sadly, despite LDN
 

Hi AshleyK, yes, my husband has been taking LDN since we read about it, maybe a year after dx...we have definitely progressed, I hate to say, but here is the always present "but": maybe we would have progressed faster without LDN, who knows? Regardless, it does help my husband with sleep.

When we went the few weeks without LDN, my husband said he felt "things got worse" but was not able to articulate exactly how. He is very logical, analytical, and objective, so I believe him, in other words, I don't think it was placebo ("I'm not taking LDN so I must be getting worse" kind of thinking). We got our script filled finally, and things "leveled out" is the best way to describe it, but he doesn't feel like he got back to where he was before, it was like we just lost the 2 weeks and were stuck with the stage he was then at when we got our LDN filled.

This may not make much sense but it's the best way I can describe it.
I think it's great LDN works for PD for some, and other conditions as well. Just wish we got the same benefit in terms of staving off progression that you and others are experiencing!!