Use of Omega-3s in Traumatic Brain Injury

Clinical studies thus far have failed to identify an effective treatment strategy for Traumatic brain injury (TBI), when a combination of targets controlling aspects of neuroprotection, neuroinflammation, and neuroregeneration is needed. Omega-3 fatty acids (n-3FA) offer the advantage of this approach. Although further clinical trial research is needed, there is a growing body of strong preclinical evidence and clinical experience which suggests that benefits may be possible from aggressively adding substantial amounts of n-3FA to optimize the nutritional foundation of TBI, concussion, and post-concussion syndrome patients. Early and optimal doses of n-3FA, even in a preventive setting, have the potential to improve outcomes without significant side-effects. With evidence of unsurpassed safety and tolerability, n-3FA should be considered in the acute care and surgical setting, if conventional medicine can overcome its inherent bias against nutritional, non-pharmacologic therapies.