The necessity of the right balance of omega-3s in the diet is critical for many aspects of health including cardiovascular health brain function and immune system support. These fatty acids are critical for those with neurological disorders and more and more studies are demonstrating their potential to inhibit neuronal excitability and to help reduce seizures.

Currently it is estimated that 2.2 million people have epilepsy afflicting 7.1 out of every 1000 persons. It is the fourth most common neurological disorder below migraine stroke and Alzheimer's disease. The incidence of epilepsy is 150000; yielding 48 out of 100000 new cases each year. What is concerning here is that these incidences are also higher in children and older adults. Despite taking medications for treatment more than 35 percent of these patients still suffer with seizures.

A 2015 study from the UCLA School of Medicine published in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry showed that low-dose fish oil therapy may be helpful to individuals with epilepsy as those who took 1080 mg fish-oil as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) had a 33.6 percent reduction in seizure frequency when compared to placebo. All participants remained on their antiepileptic medication but had been drug resistant. The magnitude of improvement is similar to that of recent antiepileptic drug trials in drug resistant epilepsy (DRE). A separate study on rats supports these latest results showing seizure improvement at 400mg/kg of fish oils.

In the same vein and something to consider is that it has been acknowledged that polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are a vital part of the ketogenic diet used in many children with epilepsy. PUFAs have been known to increase anticonvulsant properties and reduce the complications associated with the high-fat diet.

A 2014 study found that rats had longer latency to seizure onset fewer convulsive episodes and attenuated severity when given fish oils compared to those supplemented with palm oil or control. In this instance neuroproctectin D1 (NPD1) has been speculated to contribute to this protection from omega-3s. Scientists from the Neuroscience Center of Excellence at Louisiana State University have contributed to the discovery of this docosanoid synthesized from DHA and found "œNPD1 is promptly made in response to oxidative stress seizures and brain ischemia-reperfusion. NPD1 is neuroprotective in experimental brain damage retinal pigment epithelial cells and in human brain cells. Thus NPD1 acts as a protective sentinel one of the very first defenses activated when cell homeostasis is threatened by neurodegenerations. NPD1 also has been shown to have a specificity and potency that provides beneficial bioactivity during initiation and early progression of neuronal and retinal degenerations epilepsy and stroke.

DHA seems to be the more critical component in fish oils in regards to brain health and seizures. DHA was shown to sharply reduce excitatory sharp waves (SPWs) in hippocampal slices in mice. These waves are usually involved with temporal lobe epilepsy. This is promising news as temporal lobe epilepsy is typically involved with complex partial seizures and is known to be medication-resistant. Another rat study in 2013 showed increased serum DHA concentrations from fish oils significantly increased latency to seizure onset and raised focal amygdaloid seizure thresholds at 3 5 and 7 months after fish oil supplementation. Also in 2013 rats given fish oils for 75 days were shown to have reduced latency to methylmalonate (MMA) induced seizures in cortical slices in vitro. The results support that fish oil decreases MMA-induced seizures. The decreased sensitivity of Na(+)K(+)-ATPase to the inhibitory effect of PGE2 in fish oil-treated animals may be related to the currently reported anticonvulsant activity.

EPA has also proved to be beneficial as it has been found to support the anticonvulsant medicine valproate in rats while also alleviating the drug's hepatotoxicity.

Dating back to 1994 omega-3 fatty acids were speculated to help children with febrile seizures. Since these fatty acids reduce the synthesis of IL-1 they were considered as a prophylactic in preventing febrile seizures in susceptible children.  At the very least evidence indicates that there is no harm in fish oil intake for epileptics. Rather omega-3 consumption and supplementation should be considered in order to help minimize the frequency of seizures in those with uncontrolled epilepsy and to help reduce the occurrence of sudden unexpected death in these individuals.