SAN FRANCISCO, March 17 (UPI) -- Nutritionists are convinced that, just like everyone else, children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder are what they eat.
Specifically, the specialists have their eye on so-called omega-3 fatty acids as playing some role in the condition that, in general, is marked by trouble keeping still, difficulty in maintaining attention, propensity toward acting impulsively or some combination of the three.
Omega-3 fatty acids are plentiful in cold-water fish, such as salmon, herring, tuna, clams, crab, cod, flounder, sole, halibut, catfish, trout and shrimp. They also abound in nuts; soybeans; walnut, olive and flaxseed oil; seeds; whole grains and dark leafy greens.
The fatty acids comprise a hefty component of the brain, which weighs in at about 60-percent fat.
The compounds, which studies indicate are essential for forming and maintaining the dopamine system, have been found in short supply in some, though not all, children diagnosed with ADHD.
Many researchers see ADHD as a hereditary imbalance of brain chemicals, such as dopamine -- which regulates movement, emotion, motivation and sensations of pleasure.
That view is strongly contested by critics who point to a dearth of physical evidence for such a notion.
Whatever their connection to the "feel-good" chemical in the brain, the omega-3 fatty acids appear to have an impact on a child's behavior, portending problems in youngsters who don't have enough of the compounds.
As one example, a recent Duke University study of 96 boys ages 6 to 12 indicated those with low blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids face increased risk of ADHD-like behavior, learning and health challenges.
There is also some evidence the compounds may play a benevolent role in the production of myelin, a protective insulation that coats the brain's internal wiring,
A novel model of human brain development and degeneration proposed by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles implicates disruption of myelin production in such childhood developmental disorders as autism and ADHD.
From a review of scanned and autopsied brain tissue, the investigators unraveled the role of myelin in these conditions.
Laden with more cholesterol than any other brain component, the sheet of fat surrounds the spindly nerve-cell extensions called axons, permitting them to carry messages to their neighbors in the safety and security of their armor.
The thicker and heavier the cells' coat, the faster and more effective their communication, said team leader Dr. George Bartzokis, professor of neurology at the David Geffen School of Medicine and director of the UCLA Memory Disorders and Alzheimer's Disease Clinic and the Clinical Core of the UCLA Alzheimer's Disease Research Center.
The pioneering neuroscientist discovered that myelin production continues unabated throughout the first four decades of life before peaking and plummeting at age 45. His latest research portrays the protective shield as the neural system's Achilles' heel, vulnerable to a host of environmental assaults.
"Myelination, a process uniquely elaborated in humans, arguably is the most important and most vulnerable process of brain development as we mature and age," Bartzokis said.
Without adequate insulation, cells won't connect properly, he has found in a series of experiments that showed a breakdown in the sheath can expose the naked wiring beneath and open the gates to an array of neurological and behavioral problems.
Bartzokis's theory holds that humans "myelinate" different circuits at various points in life, which could explain the sizeable differences between brain diseases of the young and old.
An early disruption of the process, for instance, may throw for a loop the development of the basic circuits that govern language and social communication, two key impairments in autism.
A glitch during the early school years could hamper the ability to process information efficiently and effectively, leading to deficits in attention that characterize ADHD. Later in life, the result of a malfunction could be Alzheimer's disease.
To Bartzokis, the human brain is akin to high-speed Internet.
"The speed, quality and bandwidth of the connections determine the brain's ability to process information, and all these depend in large part on the insulation that coats the brain's connecting wires," he said.
The findings may explain why developmental disorders leave no calling card in the brain. "There's no dead anything on autopsy," Bartzokis said. "Those brain connections just never developed normally."
Bartzokis's studies also show female brains make better myelin, which could explain why boys are at much greater risk for autism, ADHD and other problems.
"On the positive side, there are some interesting things to consider," Bartzokis said. "For example, essential fatty acids are fats that are necessary for membrane production, and myelin is essentially pure membrane."
"They are called 'essential' because the human body cannot produce them, and, therefore, they are like 'vitamins' -- they need to come from a good diet," he added. "Thus, nutrition is very important because the brain is very busy trying to build the myelin sheaths."
Still, researchers don't have the skinny on the exact relationship between the fats and ADHD.
Although alternative medicine practitioners report some success in ameliorating symptoms with the use of fatty acid, mineral, vitamin B and other supplements, none of these has been embraced as standard therapy.
Conventional and complementary practices also part ways on the role, and remedial potential, of food additives, sugar or allergens. All of these remain controversial, having failed to withstand rigorous scientific scrutiny, according to a compilation of ADHD data by Dr. Peter Jensen, director of the Center for the Advancement of Children's Mental Health at Columbia University.
Next: Seeking environmental clues to ADHD.
(Editors' Note: This series on ADHD is based on a review of hundreds of reports and a survey of more than 200 specialists.)
--
UPI Health News welcomes comments on this column. E-mail: [email protected]
