Multiple Sclerosis News Blog: Reported November 25, 2005

http://www.ivanhoe.com/channels/p_channelstory.cfm?storyid=12556

PORTLAND, Ore. (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- You've heard fish oil is good for you. Some studies even show it may prevent Alzheimer's and heart disease. Now, doctors want to know if it can decrease depression in a specific group of patients.

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 says.

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, N.D., a 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 tells Ivanhoe. 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 says. "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 says, and she hopes it will also be a bonus for the up to 60 percent of MS patients who suffer depression.

So far, the only side effect is a fishy aftertaste and an upset stomach. 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. The new study is funded by the National Institutes of Health and is now enrolling.

This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.

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