Enhancement of cell viability after treatment with polyunsaturated fatty acids

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is highly prevalent in children and adolescents and both environmental and genetic factors play major roles. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are postulated to contribute to the development of the infant brain and an imbalance in these may increase the risk of ADHD. In recent clinical studies, supplementation with PUFAs improved symptoms of ADHD in some cases. Similarly, some beneficial effects were observed with PUFA treatment in neuronal cell cultures. Therefore, in this study, we hypothesized that a specific PUFA combination (available on the market as Equazen™ [Vifor Pharma, Switzerland]) along with iron, zinc, or vitamin B5 (vitB5) would produce an additive beneficial effect on the viability of rat pheochromocytoma-12 dopaminergic cells. The specific PUFA combination alone, as well as added to each of the three nutrients, was tested in a dose-response manner. The specific PUFAs significantly improved cell viability, starting at very low doses (100 pM) from 60 h up to 90 h; while the combined treatment with vitB5 and minerals did not provide additional benefit. Our results confirmed the beneficial effect of the specific PUFAs on neuronal cell viability; although supplementation with minerals and vitB5 did not enhance this effect.