Diabetic neuropathy is a painful condition resulting from the nerve damage which occurs in nearly half of those diagnosed with diabetes. A research study from the VA Medical Center in Iowa City published in the Journal of Neurophysiology shows that fish oil supplements can restore the health of the damaged nerves in diabetic mice.
“Diabetic neuropathy is a very costly and debilitating complication of diabetes.” says Mark Yorek the study’s lead researcher. “Fish oil is an attractive treatment approach because theses supplements are considered very safe and could be easily translated into everyday care. Fish oil would be easy to take… and should have few side effects when combined with other medications.”
There have been other studies of the health benefits of taking omega 3 fatty acid supplements (found in fish oil ) in diabetes. The complication of diabetes called diabetic neuropathy has no cure and advancements in treatment are sorely needed.
Dr. Yorek says, “Even though a lot more work needs to be done, including clinical trials with human subjects, our animal studies suggest that fish oil can reverse some of the harmful effects of diabetes on the nerves. Our intent is to do more animal studies to demonstrate that fish oil treatment can reverse the harmful effects of diabetes on nerves even after a long period of poorly controlled diabetes. After completion of this work, we hope to begin studies with diabetic patients with neuropathy.”
“For more of the latest in nutritional/ lifestyle research check all of my blog posts at www.drsobo.com/blog
For the best care in Integrative Medicine call Henry C. Sobo, M.D., at 203-348-8805 or write us at [email protected]