The impact of dietary omega-3 fatty acid deficiency on the outcome of traumatic brain injury

Thursday, October 11, 2012 — Poster Session IV
2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.	Natcher Conference Center, Building 45	NIAAA	NEURO/BEHAV/SENSYS-4

Authors

• A. Desai
• Z. Qiang
• K. Kevala
• H.Y. Kim

Abstract

Omega-3 fatty acids are important in the development and functioning of the brain and are relevant in many disorders. The present study was designed to investigate the outcome of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in omega-3 fatty acid deficient mice. Controlled cortical impact was inflicted to C57BL6 mice fed on omega-3 fatty acid adequate (O-3 adequate) and omega-3 fatty acid deficient (O-3 deficient) diets for three successive generations. Behavioral tests included the Rotarod Test, Beam Walk Test and Object Recognition Test. The O-3 deficient group exhibited significant decrease in the latency to fall off the accelerating rotarod as compared to the O-3 adequate group. The O-3 deficient group also performed relatively poorly on the Beam Walk Test with respect to the number of foot slips. Moreover, the group had worse score in the object recognition test. These results indicate that chronic dietary O-3 fatty acid deficiency can lead to greater functional deficits following TBI. This study is of significance considering the deficiency of O-3 fatty acids in the typical western diet. Further studies are in progress to investigate the effect of chronic O-3 deficiency for one and two generations and also to elucidate the factors that mediate these changes.

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