The new study, published in the biomedical research journal Nature Medicine, has found that dietary intake of omega-3 DHA and EPA increases the ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids. This ratio is significant because increased omega-6 consumption is linked with an increased risk of retinopathy, a sight-threatening disease that affects 4 million premature infants and diabetics in the United States.
Retinopathy of prematurity and diabetic retinopathy feature abnormal growth of blood vessels in the eye. The team of researchers studied the influence of omega-3s on vessel loss and regrowth after injury in the mouse retina. They determined increasing the omega-3 acids by dietary intake limited pathological blood vessel growth by reducing the production of inflammatory mediators in the eye.