Having consistently positively linked to cardiovascular health, symptoms of dementia/Alzheimer's disease and depression, I guess there is no stopping the beneficial effects of Omega-3 fatty acids.

Now, the wonderful omega-3 may protect the eyes against retinopathy according to a mice study conducted under a collaborative effort by researchers at Children's Hospital Boston (the primary pediatric teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School), Brigham and Women's Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, the University of Goteborg in Sweden, and the National Eye Institute (NEI) and National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Retinopathy is a deterioration of the retina - an eye condition that when progresses will lead to blindness.

In this particular study appearing in the July 2007 issue of the journal Nature Medicine, the effect of dietary supplementation of omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA (derived from fish) and the omega-6 fatty acid arachidonic acid on the loss of blood vessels, the re-growth of healthy vessels, and the growth of destructive abnormal vessels in a mouse model of oxygen-induced retinopathy have been investigated and found that:

• increasing omega-3 fatty acids and decreasing omega-6 fatty acids in the diet reduced the area of vessel loss that ultimately causes the growth of the abnormal vessels and blindness, apparently, omega-6 fatty acid contributes to the growth of abnormal blood vessels in the retina.

According to Paul A. Sieving, M.D., Ph.D., director of the NEI:

"This study explores the potential benefit of dietary omega-3 fatty acids in protecting against the development and progression of retinal disease. The study gives us a better understanding of the biological processes that lead to retinopathy and how to intervene to prevent or slow disease."

Haven't always the experts told us to eat more fish? Maybe we should start listening.

Find more details from the NEI News.