By John McKenzie

Aug. 19, 2003 — For years, researchers have been searching the seas, collecting rare sponges, coral and algae in the hope that the chemicals they contain might become potent medications. Now some researchers say they've found an effective antidepressant below the waves: Fish, or more specifically, fish oil containing so-called omega-3 fatty acids. Researchers found that omega-3 fatty acids had the same effect on the brain as the antidepressant Prozac: They raised levels of a critical neurotransmitter, Serotonin.

"We've been very impressed by the response rates we've observed," said Dr. David Mischoulon, a psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital who has overseen an omega-3 clinical trial. "We believe there is definitely something to these treatments."
Scientists first became interested when they noticed that countries with the highest fish consumption had the lowest rates of depression. They also observed that mothers in England who ate very little fish during pregnancy doubled their risk of developing postpartum depression compared to women who ate fish regularly. So scientists began a series of studies to see why.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids Found to Have Same Effect
"After only 18 days, those animals that were fed the enriched formula had double the level of Serotonin in their frontal cortex, in the part of the brain that regulates depression and impulsivity," said Dr. Joseph Hibbeln, a senior clinical investigator at the National Institutes of Health.

Omega-3 fatty acids are polyunsaturated oils that cannot be made by the body and are derived primarily from seafood. The fatty acid with most direct influence on brain development and function is DHA.

"The DHA is highly concentrated in the brain," Hibbeln told ABCNEWS, "and it's concentrated in the brain right where the neurons communicate with each other and all the signals pass back and forth."

The DHA from omega-3 makes up the walls of neurons, Hibbeln said. "The body cannot manufacture DHA so it has to get it from our diet."

At Sheffield University in England, Dr. Malcolm Peet gave omega-3 fatty acids to 70 depressed patients who had not been helped by drugs such as Prozac. After 12 weeks, 69 percent of the patients showed marked improvement compared with 25 percent given placebos.

Trial Participant Accounts Significant Improvement
Jim LaBonte of Boston took part in another omega-3 study. LaBonte, who was diagnosed with depression four years ago, had tried Prozac but didn't like the way it made him feel. He complained the drug left him with no emotions, and so he stopped taking it. Then he enrolled in a clinical trial at Massachusetts General Hospital.

LaBonte took the omega-3 fatty acid DHA each day. Within three weeks, he said, he noticed a significant improvement. He has now been taking DHA for eight months. "I'm fine today. Not only do I not feel as blue, but when they [depressed feelings] do come I am able to handle it," he said.

"We're confident that the results he had were positive," said Mischoulon. "We've also observed similar responses in other people. So it's pretty clear in our minds that these treatments work."

Preliminary studies suggest 1 gram a day of omega-3 fatty acids can be an effective treatment, whether in the form of a nutritional supplement available at most health-food stores or simply by eating fish — especially salmon, sardines or tuna — several times a week.

Researchers say much larger studies are now needed to follow up on the initial success of omega-3 trials, not only against depression but also in treating schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and violent behavior.

For information about testing your levels of Serotonin, click here

For information about the Fish Oil supplement recommended by Dr. Hansen, click here

Alzheimer's Cases in U.S. May Top 13 Million by 2050
Unless ways to prevent Alzheimer's disease are discovered, the number of Americans suffering with the condition will increase nearly three fold in the next half century, new statistics suggests. In 2000, 4.5 million people in the US had Alzheimer's. By 2050, this figure will balloon to 13.2 million if no inroads are made in preventing or treating the disease.

"If left unchecked, it is no exaggeration to say that Alzheimer's disease will destroy the health care system and bankrupt Medicare and Medicaid," Sheldon Goldberg, president and CEO of the Alzheimer's Association, said in a statement.

As people live longer, they become more susceptible to diseases of aging, such as Alzheimer's. The 85-plus population is expected to increase from 4 million people today to 19 million in 2050, she said. As a result, the number of Alzheimer's cases is expected to grow from 4.5 million today to between 11.2 million and 16 million in 2050.

And those are just people with full-blown Alzheimer's. An even larger number of older people are likely to develop a condition known as mild cognitive impairment, which causes short-term memory problems but is less debilitating than Alzheimer's, said Piero Antuono, a professor of neurology at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Costs of Care
The Alzheimer's Association estimates that Medicare spending on Alzheimer's will increase 54%, to $49.3 billion, in 2010, and that Medicaid spending will increase 80%, to $33 billion.

But Medicare generally pays only for doctor visits. And while Medicaid may cover nursing home costs, coverage doesn't kick in until the patient's assets have been reduced to about $2,000.

So families often incur the biggest costs, according to advocates for seniors. Nursing home costs for an Alzheimer's patient can run $4,000 to $5,000 a month.

Prevention and Treatment
Alzheimer's probably starts 10 to 20 years before a person is diagnosed. Alzheimer’s Disease, is more common in Western societies, both because of longer life expectancy and, probably, because of the western diet. Several studies suggest that this degenerative disease is linked to a diet characterised by excessive dietary intake of sugar, refined carbohydrates and animal products (with high content of saturated fats), and decreased intake of unrefined seeds, cereals, legumes, and other vegetables (with high content of fiber, vitamins, phytoestrogens polyphenols and other antioxidant substances) and, in several populations, of sea food (rich in n-3 fatty acids).

Alzheimer’s Disease, therefore, could theoretically be prevented (or delayed) by relatively simple dietary measures aimed at increasing insulin sensitivity (through reduction of refined sugars and saturated fats from meat and dairy products), the ratio between n-3 and n-6 fatty acids (e.g. from fish and respectively seed oils), antioxidant vitamins, folic acid, vitamin B6, phytoestrogens (vegetables, whole cereals, and legumes, including soy products), vitamin B12, and Chromium, Potassium, Magnesium and Silicea salts.

SOURCES: Archives of Neurology, August 2003; Epidemiol Prev. 2002 May-Jun;26(3):107-15.