Dietary supplementation of fish oil enriched with omega‐3 polyunsaturated fatty acids elevates seizure threshold in rats

Abstract

Epilepsy is a serious neurological disorder which is characterized by spontaneous, recurrent seizures. Simple partial seizures originating from the cortex are drug‐responsive, whereas complex‐partial seizures originating from the amygdala are drug‐resistant. Current anticonvulsant medications that are used to treat simple partial seizures have side effects including weight gain. Omega‐3 (n‐3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) have been considered as a healthier alternative treatment for patients with epilepsy. Accordingly, we hypothesized that dietary supplementation of fish oil enriched with n‐3 PUFA would protect against epileptic‐like seizures originating from the cortex or amygdala, without altering body weight gain. Rats were surgically implanted with electrodes in the cortex or amygdala, and subsequently randomized to the AIN‐93G diet containing soybean oil or 40% fish oil for up to 34 weeks. Body weight gain, food intake and seizure thresholds were measured monthly. In contrast to soybean oil, fish oil supplementation elevated afterdischarge seizure threshold in the cortex (36%) and the amygdala (64%) relative to baseline (P<0.05). Fish oil treatment did not alter food intake and body weight gain over time (P>0.05). These findings indicate that n‐3 PUFA have anticonvulsant properties, and that they do not adversely affect body weight as seen with conventional anticonvulsant medications.