One Year of Seal Oil Omega-3 Supplementation Stops the Progression of Diabetic Sensorimotor Polyneuropathy: Results from a Clinical Pilot Trial

Backgrounds: Diabetic sensorimotor peripheral neuropathy (DSP) is the leading complication in diabetes mellitus (DM) for which there are currently no intervention therapies. Corneal nerve fibre length (CNFL) measured by in vivo corneal confocal microscopy (IVCCM) is a biomarker for DSP onset and progression in T1DM. Longitudinal data shows an annual change of -1.6% in T!DM, while healthy controls change +5%. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (N-3 PUFA) are essential for the development and maintenance of nerves, but have not yet been investigated for their ability to stop the progression of DSP.

Results: Forty participants (53% female), aged 48+14, BMI 28.1 +5.8 with diabetes duration of 27+18 years were enrolled in the trial. The finding show that 12 months of seal oil supplementation can stop the progression of DSP measured by CNFL N-3 supplementation could be a targeted nutritional therapy to address small nerve fibre damage in DSP.

Lewis, E., Perkins, B., Lovblom, E., et al. (2016) One Year of Seal Oil Omega-3 Supplementation Stops the Progression of Diabetic Sensorimotor Polyneuropathy: Results from a Clinical Pilot Trial. Canadian Journal of Diabetes.

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