A study conducted by researchers at the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Washington [US], Columbia University, showed that an injectable emulsion containing two omega-3 fatty acids present in fish oil prevented the death of newborn rodents after a disturbance in oxygen flow. Brain damage has been significantly reduced. To the brain near delivery.
Brain damage resulting from inadequate oxygen is a serious complication of labor and delivery that affects one to three of every 1,000 live newborns in the US. In infants who survive, the disease can cause cerebral palsy, cognitive disability, epilepsy, pulmonary hypertension, and neurodevelopmental disorders.
"Hypoxic brain injury can have devastating, lifelong consequences, and we suggest that our novel therapeutic approach using intravenous omega-3 emulsions can address these concerns," said study author Richard Deckelbaum, professor of nutrition and pediatrics and coordinating author of the study. Can reduce adverse consequences.,
The study also found that the novel omega-3 preparation is far more effective in rodents than therapeutic hypothermia, the current standard therapy for this condition and the only one approved by the FDA. This treatment, which involves the use of cold blankets for three days, benefits only 15% of patients and can cause cardiovascular and respiratory complications.
"We need to find another treatment for hypoxic brain injury that will be more effective and feasible than therapeutic cooling and can be used immediately after injury when therapy is likely to be most effective," said a co-researcher. Hilde Ziarpoli said. Deckelbaum group scientist and senior author of the study.
Previous studies by Deckelbaum's team and others have shown that omega-3 emulsions – tiny droplets of omega-3 fatty acids dispersed in liquid – can have neuroprotective effects and the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil. Reduces inflammation and cell death from lack of oxygen. But the bioactive compounds in commercially available oral omega-3 supplements take weeks or months to take effect, so they are not ideal for protecting organs immediately after injury.The Columbia team has developed an injectable omega-3 therapy that can be used in such situations. Therapy is a diglyceride formulation – two omega-3 fatty acids, DHA and EPA, bound to a glyceride molecule – which enhances their ability to emulsify into small, concentrated particles. These fatty acids are also found in fish oil, although dietary sources of fish oil and fatty acids are primarily triglycerides, which contain three fatty acids per molecule.
It is anticipated that the higher concentrations of omega-3 molecules from the new diglyceride will penetrate the blood-brain barrier more rapidly.
The researchers administered the therapy to week-old rats and mice with hypoxic brain injury.The experimental emulsion reduced brain damage to a greater extent than the commercially available omega-3 injectable emulsion (approved only as a nutritional supplement for infants with liver disease requiring intravenous nutrition). The dosages of both omega-3 preparations were the same.
The experimental emulsion may have worked better than the commercial emulsion because it was absorbed into the animals' bloodstream twice as fast.
The researchers also found that animals treated with the new therapy had normal motor coordination and reflexes – indicators of neurological function – similar to animals without brain injury.
“The omega-3 diglyceride emulsion not only prevented brain cell death but also preserved neurological function, which is important in reducing the costs of disability for both patient well-being and the health care system,” says Deckelbaum.,
The researchers hope to begin clinical trials in newborns within two years and expand the study on the effectiveness of the therapy in preventing damage to the central nervous system in animals with traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury. Are planning to. Additional studies will explore applications in other serious injuries and conditions in which lack of oxygen causes organ damage, including heart attacks and strokes.
Brain damage resulting from inadequate oxygen is a serious complication of labor and delivery that affects one to three of every 1,000 live newborns in the US. In infants who survive, the disease can cause cerebral palsy, cognitive disability, epilepsy, pulmonary hypertension, and neurodevelopmental disorders.
"Hypoxic brain injury can have devastating, lifelong consequences, and we suggest that our novel therapeutic approach using intravenous omega-3 emulsions can address these concerns," said study author Richard Deckelbaum, professor of nutrition and pediatrics and coordinating author of the study. Can reduce adverse consequences.,
The study also found that the novel omega-3 preparation is far more effective in rodents than therapeutic hypothermia, the current standard therapy for this condition and the only one approved by the FDA. This treatment, which involves the use of cold blankets for three days, benefits only 15% of patients and can cause cardiovascular and respiratory complications.
"We need to find another treatment for hypoxic brain injury that will be more effective and feasible than therapeutic cooling and can be used immediately after injury when therapy is likely to be most effective," said a co-researcher. Hilde Ziarpoli said. Deckelbaum group scientist and senior author of the study.
Previous studies by Deckelbaum's team and others have shown that omega-3 emulsions – tiny droplets of omega-3 fatty acids dispersed in liquid – can have neuroprotective effects and the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil. Reduces inflammation and cell death from lack of oxygen. But the bioactive compounds in commercially available oral omega-3 supplements take weeks or months to take effect, so they are not ideal for protecting organs immediately after injury.The Columbia team has developed an injectable omega-3 therapy that can be used in such situations. Therapy is a diglyceride formulation – two omega-3 fatty acids, DHA and EPA, bound to a glyceride molecule – which enhances their ability to emulsify into small, concentrated particles. These fatty acids are also found in fish oil, although dietary sources of fish oil and fatty acids are primarily triglycerides, which contain three fatty acids per molecule.
It is anticipated that the higher concentrations of omega-3 molecules from the new diglyceride will penetrate the blood-brain barrier more rapidly.
The researchers administered the therapy to week-old rats and mice with hypoxic brain injury.The experimental emulsion reduced brain damage to a greater extent than the commercially available omega-3 injectable emulsion (approved only as a nutritional supplement for infants with liver disease requiring intravenous nutrition). The dosages of both omega-3 preparations were the same.
The experimental emulsion may have worked better than the commercial emulsion because it was absorbed into the animals' bloodstream twice as fast.
The researchers also found that animals treated with the new therapy had normal motor coordination and reflexes – indicators of neurological function – similar to animals without brain injury.
“The omega-3 diglyceride emulsion not only prevented brain cell death but also preserved neurological function, which is important in reducing the costs of disability for both patient well-being and the health care system,” says Deckelbaum.,
The researchers hope to begin clinical trials in newborns within two years and expand the study on the effectiveness of the therapy in preventing damage to the central nervous system in animals with traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury. Are planning to. Additional studies will explore applications in other serious injuries and conditions in which lack of oxygen causes organ damage, including heart attacks and strokes.
