Fish Oil (Omega-3) Used to Cure Massive Brain Trauma - CNN

Link - CNN

Nine weeks after the accident, as Grant was being transferred from an acute care to a rehabilitation hospital, the Virgin family told doctors at the new facility that he was already on a 20-gram-per-day regimen of fish oil.

In reality, his parents had been sneaking a few grams of fish oil into his feeding tube for weeks, but nothing resembling that high dosage.

Two days after he began at this more aggressive dosage, JJ Virgin got a phone call late one night.

"I get this call like midnight, and I'm asleep, and I wake up the next morning and go, 'Did Grant call me and did we have this whole conversation?'" she said. "I just remember waking up the next morning going, 'I must have dreamed that, that couldn't have possibly happened."

When she arrived to the hospital the next morning, a nurse told her that, in fact, it had not been a dream.
Forty-eight hours after receiving high-dose fish oil, Grant Virgin asked a nurse for a cell phone to call his mother, and proceeded to have a conversation with her.

"Unbelievable," she said. "Unbelievable."

Unbelievable, especially considering that was only two months after Grant Virgin's parents had been told to "let him go."

I have been keeping tabs on vitamins, in particular, lately - especially ones that help with mental function. One of the supplements I have been taking is, in fact, fish oil - it has been shown to help with frontal lobe problems, and I have been taking it in order to help me with problem-solving and such. I'm into different types of nootropics, even herbal.

Luckily, I was able to find a source on this -

Fascinating Facts You Never Knew about the Human Brain

1. Taking omega-3 fats. The omega -3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) keep the dopamine levels in your brain high, increase neuronal growth in the frontal cortex of your brain, and increase cerebral circulation. Krill oil is an excellent source of omega-3, and may even be superior to fish oil.

Wikipedia: Frontal Lobe

The frontal lobe contains most of the dopamine-sensitive neurons in the cerebral cortex. The dopamine system is associated with reward, attention, short-term memory tasks, planning, and motivation.

I have been struggling with these kind of issues for years - so that's why I started my fish oil regimen last December. The issues have drastically improved, however, I am not sure if that was the cause or not.

Another digression - in the case of anti-social personality disorder, fish oil might be theoretically administered in addition to Propranolol (or another beta blocker) and an S.S.R.I. like Luvox. The frontal lobe is often under-developed in cases of anti-social personality disorder. The same thing can be said for people with attention problems.

Back to the information about the kid who was in a coma - this is a very interesting story, because high dosages of fish oil were being administered to him intravenously - something that I didn't even know was ever done, and had never thought of before.

As you can see, this is one of those cures that is a bit out there - but in seven cases, of severe brain trauma, the fish oil was able to cure them - even from comas -

One case does not prove a cure.

Show me 50 cases with a cure rate of 50+% and you can call it a cure.

The word cure is over used and misunderstood

Krill oil is even better than fish oil. I have taken it religiously for years. Recently GNC didn't have any so I stopped and got too lazy to buy more. When I was on Krill I went into the doctor and they did a cholesterol check. It was 81. 9 months later after being off of it it was 151. I freaked out. Take fish oil at minimum and krill if you can afford it. Krill crosses the blood brain barrier much easier than fish oil and will improve your thought process significantly. I could easily tell the difference. The only concern I have is the recent radioactivity in the pacific. Also only get it from GNC. I have tried their products for over a decade and confirmed their claims via my own doctors blood tests.

They say their stuff was tested in a lab for a reason. Anyone can put chemicals into a bottle and sell you a supplement that your body doesn't absorb. That's why I only buy GNC. My doctor has since started using krill and recommends it to her patients over any cholesterol medication.

reply to post by darkbake


Very interesting, thanks for sharing. I also have trouble with short term memory. Since I turned 53, I started to notice my memory wasn't like it used to be. I've been wondering if there was any over the counter supplement that would aid in rejuvenating my memory. What gram dosage of fish oil do you take on a daily basis?

reply to post by ANNED


This is experimental at the moment. And there have been 7 cases - but no empirical studies yet that I am aware of regarding patients with massive trauma. Although there have been studies in rats. I linked one at the bottom of this particular post.

Here are some scientific articles on the subject - as well as hints that there have been empirical studies on its use for things such as ADHD, depression and (yes, some brain trauma studies) as well as manic-depressive disorder.

Psychology Today: What are the Real Differences Between EPA and DHA

It is rapidly becoming acknowledged that omega-3 fatty acids are good for the brain. However, there are two eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Are they equivalent, different, or something in-between?

So, fish oil is beneficial for healthy brain function (specifically that involving attention and planning, I might add here). But there are two different substances - EPA and DHA.

However, once EPA enters into the brain it is rapidly oxidized (2,3). This is not the case with DHA (4). The only way to control cellular inflammation in the brain is to maintain high levels of EPA in the blood. This is why all the work on depression, ADHD, brain trauma, etc. have demonstrated EPA to be superior to DHA (5).

So there has been work done with fish oil in treating depression, ADHD and brain trauma. But let's take a minute to look closer at the differences between the two omega 3 fatty acids. The goal of the fish oil is to reduce inflammation in the brain. The EPA does this through a complicated process you can read in the above link from Psychology Today - the chemistry is explained there, only a click away (I read it, and processed it, but the article was written by a professional).

While the EPA directly inhibits the production of certain materials that cause inflammation, the DHA indirectly does it - and as a large molecule, when it is caught in a membrane, it increases the fluidity of what goes through the membranes. In the eyes, for example, this mechanism helps receptors to rotate more effectively.

Dr. Howell's Blog

Very exciting news!!!! A new study from Mass General Hospital and Harvard Medical School has found that omega-3 fatty acid supplements to the diet in the form of fish oil are an effective first-line intervention for ADHD and bi-polar disorder. As I learn more about the study I will post it on the blog, but I know the lead investigator, Dr. Janet Wozniak, is first-rate. This is a very compelling finding. We did a small study at my center in Sudbury two years ago that produced the same finding. Children who took fish oil supplementation improved their scores on a variety of cognitive tests as well as redueced the reported negative symptoms of ADHD over a two month period.

My verdict after reading up on it some more is that the fish oil is legitimate, both scientifically, and empirically, as something that might be able to help with attention issues, in particular, and planning.

Here are some links to more studies, however, specifically regarding brain trauma. I'm surprised that it could help with brain trauma - which is why I posted this story on ATS in the first place - that's a major thing.

Omega 3 Fatty Acids Counter-Act Learning Disabilty after Traumatic Brain Injury in Rats

reply to post by WeRpeons


I buy mine off e-bay:

Spring Valley, Triple Strength Fish Oil.
1400 mg / 900 mg of Omega 3's.
EPA: 647
DHA: 253

Here is a more detailed article from Wikipedia here.

The FDA says it is safe to take up to 3000 mg of omega-3 per day.[71] (This is not the same as 3000 mg of fish oil. A 1000 mg pill typically has only 300 mg of omega-3; 10 such pills would equal 3000 mg of omega-3.) Dyerberg studied healthy Greenland Eskimos and found an average intake of 5700 mg of omega-3 EPA per day.[72]

I think it would help with your short-term memory, that was specifically mentioned in one of the articles I just read.





That's what the soft gels look like. I've found them in the pharmacy section of my local grocery store before along with the other vitamins. They are not that expensive, either, and also help with heart health. You can see I put that safety information up there as well.

reply to post by darkbake


Amazing, I saw this report a few months ago.

you know what the fishing industry does with fish that dont sell and start going bad?

they put them in little capsules and call them "omega 3 fish oil". the ratio of omega's in fish are all wrong for human beings anyway... im not saying they dont provide benefit...but if you want perfect omega's go with hemp seed oil. its like it was created specifically for the human brain...

nothing wrong with krill...unless its sourced from the pacific ocean. then you might as well call it cesium oil.

Been taking fish oil for years, then it came out that there is a link between fish oil and prostate cancer.

www.nlm.nih.gov...

This list shows an extensive list of benefitial uses it has for various medical conditions, as well as showing which conditions are not helped: www.nlm.nih.gov...

reply to post by darkbake


Thanks for the information, I have to get started on this. Considering it also benefits the heart and joints, how can you go wrong?

I don't claim fish oil does not have any health benefits

I take 6000 mg a day. and have since my heart attack in 2006.

I was given fish oil while in the VA hospital recovering from my heart attack and have been taking it ever since.

ANNED
One case does not prove a cure.

Show me 50 cases with a cure rate of 50+% and you can call it a cure.

The word cure is over used and misunderstood

who is going to fund such a study?

who will believe it anyway.

in any case all research now comes with the words:- "more research is needed".

did you know that fire is untested and not approved for use by a peer review body?


if it works use it.you will die waiting for "research" to validate it.