Can Fish Oil Help to Combat Depression?
According to a recent stem cell study, which explored the effectiveness of various antidepressants, fish oil creates a beneficial response that’s not dissimilar to prescribed medicines.
The research, which looked into depression, found that omega-3 may, in fact, help to treat the disease. Depression is the world’s most common psychiatric disorder, with around one in six individuals experiencing at least one depressive episode during their lifetime.
The reason that researchers were so excited about this discovery is that traditional anti-depressive treatments fail in around one-third of patients, leaving these individuals feeling like there’s no help available to them.
While a number of previous studies have similarly found that omega-3 PUFAs can help in the treatment of the psychiatric disorder, the exact mechanisms underlying these potentially therapeutic properties remain a mystery.
Fish oil and neurotrophic factors
The study, which was published in Molecular Psychiatry, began its research by first studying stem cells from adults diagnosed with depression. Its intention was to enhance our understanding of how the brain works, and why some patients respond to drug treatments for the condition while others do not.
As part of their ongoing investigations, researchers based at the University of Illinois tried administering fish oil, and found that in many cases, it mimicked the effects of certain antidepressants, by increasing the production of something known as neurotrophic factors.
An increased rate of response
What was particularly interesting about this research was that the same sorts of results were found in both individuals who were treatment-sensitive and those who were treatment-resistant.
Using skin cells from adults with depression, researchers were able to create nerve cells in a laboratory, in order to test the various responses among individuals. When these fish oils were applied, both groups reacted in a similar way.
According to Professor Mark Rasenick, a specialist in physiology, biophysics, and psychiatry, as well as the principal investigator of the study, this reaction was similar to that created by prescription drugs, despite being produced through a different mechanism.
The importance of glial cells
The difference between prescription drugs and fish oils was that the latter acted primarily on something known as glial cells, as opposed to neurons. These are a type of brain cell that surrounds the neurons themselves, and scientists have traditionally paid very little attention to them.
However, there is an increasing body of evidence to suggest that glia may play a part in depression and that a focus on this could help scientists to develop more effective antidepressant treatments.
Fish oil as a treatment
As well as pointing out the potential importance of glia in the treatment of depression, Professor Rasenick highlighted that the role of fish oil itself should also be further explored. That’s because the response of the stem cells to its application indicated that it may prove valuable either as a treatment or, at the very least, as a companion to more traditional approaches.
What’s interesting about this is that omega oils – specifically omega-3 – are believed to be the component that’s primarily responsible for creating these benefits. Found in marine fish oils, krill, vegan algae ingredients, and even flaxseed oil, that have been shown to have a positive impact on cognitive function more widely.
