Although only preliminary, the results raise the "intriguing" possibility of preventive treatment with DHA in groups at high risk of TBI, such as military personnel and athletes in contact sports-including football players. The lead author is Dr. Julian E. Bailes of West Virginia University, Morgantown.
In the experiment, rats were treated with DHA at varying doses, equivalent to those used in humans taking DHA supplements. After one month of treatment, tissue and behavioral responses to induced TBI were compared between groups of treated animals.