A first-of-its-kind study led by the Medical University of South Carolina raises questions about the value of fish oil supplements for people with repetitive mild traumatic brain injuries. In work published in Cell Reports, researchers say the supplements, often seen as neuroprotective, may actually impair the healing process after brain injury.
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“Fish oil supplements are everywhere, and people take them for a range of reasons, often without a clear understanding of their long-term effects,” [said study lead and neuroscientist Onder Albayram]. “But in terms of neuroscience, we still don’t know whether the brain has resilience or resistance to this supplement.
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The researchers uncovered a context-dependent metabolic vulnerability, meaning a shift in how cells handle energy that may leave tissue less able to recover, linked to the buildup in the brain of one omega-3 fatty acid found in many fish oil supplements. That fatty acid is eicosapentaenoic acid, better known as EPA. In the study’s models, higher brain EPA was associated with a reduced capacity for repair after injury.
