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The effects of essential fatty acid supplementation by Efamol in hyperactive children
Insights
Essential fatty acid (EFA) supplementation showed minimal impact on children with hyperactivity. While some biochemical changes occurred, significant improvements in cognitive and motor skills were not consistently observed in this study.
Area of Science:
- Nutritional Neuroscience
- Pediatric Neurology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Hyperactivity in children is often associated with attention deficits and overactivity.
- Essential fatty acids (EFAs) play crucial roles in brain function.
- Previous research suggests potential EFA deficiencies in some hyperactive children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of essential fatty acid (EFA) supplementation on cognitive, motor, and behavioral measures in children with hyperactivity.
- To assess biochemical changes related to EFA metabolism during supplementation.
Main Methods:
- A double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study involving 31 children with marked inattention and overactivity.
- Subjects received evening primrose oil (Efamol) or placebo for 4 weeks each.
- Evaluations included cognitive and motor performance tests, and standardized behavioral rating scales.
Main Results:
- EFA supplementation led to biochemical changes, including lower palmitoleic acid and higher dihomogammalinolenic acid levels.
- Significant improvements were noted on two performance tasks and parent-reported attention and motor excess scales.
- However, most other psychomotor tests and teacher ratings showed no significant treatment effects.
Conclusions:
- Essential fatty acid supplementation, as administered in this study, yielded minimal overall improvements in hyperactive children.
- The observed effects were limited to specific measures, suggesting EFA supplementation may not be a broadly effective intervention for hyperactivity.
- Baseline EFA levels did not appear to predict treatment response.
Abstract:
Thirty-one children, selected for marked inattention and overactivity, were studied in a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study of essential fatty acid (EFA) supplementation. Subjects received the active treatment and placebo conditions for 4 weeks each and were assessed on a variety of cognitive, motor, and standardized rating scale measures. EFA supplementation (evening primrose oil; Efamol) resulted in significantly lower levels of palmitoleic acid (a nonessential fatty acid) and higher concentrations of dihomogammalinolenic acid, an EFA previously found to be deficient in some hyperactive children. Supplementation was also associated with significant changes on two performance tasks and with significant improvement to parent ratings on the subscales designated as Attention Problem and Motor Excess of the Revised Behavior Problem Checklist. However, a variety of eight other psychomotor performance tests and two standardized teacher rating scales failed to indicate treatment effects. When the experiment-wise probability level was set at .05, only 2 of 42 variables showed treatment effects. Baseline EFA concentrations appeared to be unrelated to treatment response. It was concluded that EFA supplementation, as employed here, produces minimal or no improvements in hyperactive children selected without regard to baseline EFA concentrations.