Fatty acids and oxidative stress in psychiatric disorders

Fatty acids and oxidative stress in psychiatric disorders

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to determine whether there is published evidence for increased oxidative stress in neuropsychiatric disorders. METHODS A PubMed search was carried out using the MeSH search term 'oxidative stress' in conjunction with each of the DSM-IV-TR diagnostic categories of the American Psychiatric Association in order to identify potential studies. RESULTS There w...

Oxidative/Nitrosative stress in psychiatric disorders: are we there yet?

Fatty acids and neuropsychiatric disorders

In 1937, after qualifying as a medical doctor and before taking up his appointment as a fellow at Magdalen College, Oxford, Hugh Sinclair visited Herbert Evans, the codiscoverer with Katherine Scott Bishop of vitamin E, and became interested in the possibility that some fatty acid deficiencies might account for the rise in ischaemic heart disease in the Western world [1,2]. In his research lett...

Supplementation with Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Psychiatric Disorders: A Review of Literature Data

A new application for omega-3 fatty acids has recently emerged, concerning the treatment of several mental disorders. This indication is supported by data of neurobiological research, as highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFAs) are highly concentrated in neural phospholipids and are important components of the neuronal cell membrane. They modulate the mechanisms of brain cell signaling, including...

Oxidative Stress and Neurodegenerative Disorders

Living cells continually generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) through the respiratory chain during energetic metabolism. ROS at low or moderate concentration can play important physiological roles. However, an excessive amount of ROS under oxidative stress would be extremely deleterious. The central nervous system (CNS) is particularly vulnerable to oxidative stress due to its high oxygen con...