Introduction: One potential new therapy for epilepsy involves the omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), and more specifically docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).
Methods: The anticonvulsant properties of the n-3 PUFAs were assessed in a series of different experiments. Subjects received chronic dietary supplementation, sub-chronic and acute injections of either fish oil (chronic) or DHA (sub-chronic, acute). Animals were tested in the electrical afterdischarge thresholds (ADTs) model in the amygdale and the maximal pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) model.
Results: Chronic, sub-chronic, and acute administrations of n-3 PUFAs were anticonvulsant in both the electrical stimulation and maximal PTZ models. In chronic experiments, amygala ADTs increased following 3 months of fish oil administration. Fourteen days of DHA i.p. injections increased latencies to maximal PTZ seizures. Acute injection of DHA s.c. and i.v. increased unesterified serum DHA and seizure latency.
Conclusions: The present research suggests that n-3 PUFAs, and more specifically DHA, have anticonvulsant effects in vivo.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TORONTO/oai:tspace.library.utoronto.ca:1807/31611 |
| Date | 02 January 2012 |
| Creators | Trepanier, Marc-Olivier |
| Contributors | Burnham, W. McIntyre |
| Source Sets | University of Toronto |
| Language | en_ca |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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