Doctors say fish oil supplements could help ME patients

Chronic fatigue syndrome or ME may be caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain, according to doctors, who also suggest that taking daily fish oil supplements may help to alleviate some of the symptoms associated with the condition, reports BBC Health.

Chronic fatigue syndrome symptoms include muscle pain, memory loss and severe exhaustion which can last many years and leave victims bed-ridden.

Dr Basant Puri and colleagues at Hammersmith Hospital in London used state-of-the-art scanning technology to assess chemical activity in the brain. Their study is published in the journal Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica​.

The doctors studied one group of eight people who had been diagnosed with the syndrome and another group of eight healthy people.

The team found that the ME patients had higher levels of two key chemicals - choline and creatine - in their brains. Choline is important for controlling fat levels in brain cells while creatine provides energy.

The doctors said the findings suggested CFS patients had abnormal phospholipid metabolisms.

As phospholipids are protected by certain types of fatty acids, the doctors said that fatty acid supplements could help to restore the chemical imbalance in the brain and alleviate the symptoms of CFS. EPA found in fish oil supplements may be particularly useful, they suggested.

Dr Puri said: "This study suggests that if patients with CFS take a high-EPA fatty acid supplement, then this should have a beneficial action on the chemical imbalances in the brain which we have identified."​

According to the BBC, the disease affects an estimated 243,000 people of all ages in the UK.