Fish oil can help depression in MS patients
By Jean Enersen / KING 5 News. Seattle, WA.
Patients with multiple sclerosis can suffer from serious
depression. But Oregon researchers now think the best drug
for these patients may not be a drug at all.
Simply putting on makeup can be difficult for Kendall Minter.
She has multiple sclerosis -- a disease that causes double
vision, numbness in her hand -- and also depression.
"I just get stuck in this cycle of doubt and just sadness,
and I don't want to do anything about it," she said.
Minter's antidepressant doesn't work as well as she'd like,
so everyday, as part of a clinical trial, she also takes
six grams of fish oil.
Lynne Shinto, naturopathic researcher at Oregon Health & Science
University in Portland, says the fish oils, just with MS,
look promising.
People with MS have high levels of inflammation in their blood,
which could cause depression.
In a pilot study, Shinto gave fish oil to ms patients to
see if it could decrease those levels.
"We gave them fish oils for three months, and we looked at
the same marker three months later, and we see that the
levels decrease," she said.
Their inflammation levels dropped by about 50 percent.
"Then, what we did is we took them off fish oil for three
months, and we looked at the same marker," Shinto said.
"We see that the levels go back up, which is what we expect
if they're not taking the fish oil."
Now, Shinto and colleagues are conducting another study to
find out if the fish oil reduces depression and other symptoms of MS.
Minter is excited about the new study.
"I thought it couldn't hurt, so you know, if it helps, then
it's a bonus," she said, and she hopes it will also be a
bonus for the up to 60 percent of MS
patients who suffer depression.
If you take a fish oil supplement, you should look on the
label to make sure it contains no mercury or other heavy metals.
Shinto says there is some evidence that fish oil can help
patients with depression who don't have MS, but more research
needs to be done to confirm that.
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