title: A salmon based diet protects mice from behavioural changes in the cuprizone model for demyelination.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Although many patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) use special diets, the data available at present are insufficient to assess any potential benefit of diet modification. Cuprizone induced demyelination is a commonly used animal model for demyelination in the central nervous system.
  
  
  METHODS
  The present study was designed to analyse behaviour and activity due to demyelination in mice fed with 0.2% cuprizone on three different diets. The diets consisted of (1) salmon fillets rich in marine n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), (2) cod liver oil rich in marine n-3 PUFAs, or (3) a control diet containing soybean oil rich in n-6 PUFAs. After 5 weeks of continuous cuprizone treatment, animal activity was assessed with the elevated plus maze (EPM) test. After 6 weeks the brains were fixated in paraformaldehyde and stained with luxol fast blue (LFB).
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was significantly less demyelination in the salmon-cuprizone group than in the two other cuprizone-treatment groups (P<0.0005). The salmon-cuprizone mice had less weight loss (P<0.001) and showed more visits in both open and closed arms of the elevated plus maze than the other cuprizone-treated groups (P<0.0001). In addition they had more entries in the open arms than both the cod liver oil-cuprizone (P<0.02) and the soybean oil-cuprizone-treated mice (P<0.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A diet containing salmon seems to protect against behavioural changes induced by demyelination in the cuprizone model, indicating that a fish diet could have a protective effect in demyelinating diseases.
authors.affiliation: Norwegian Multiple Sclerosis Competence Centre, Department of Neurology, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway. oivind.torkildsen@gmail.com
authors.forename: Øivind
authors.initials: Ø
authors.lastname: Torkildsen
authors.forename: Linn Anne
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Brunborg
authors.forename: Anne Marita
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Milde
authors.forename: Sverre J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Mørk
authors.forename: Kjell-Morten
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Myhr
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bø
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D003060:Cod Liver Oil; D003471:Cuprizone / Q000633:toxicity; D003711:Demyelinating Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D011897:Random Allocation; D012474:Salmon; D017747:Seafood; D013024:Soybean Oil
chemical_list: D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3; D003471:Cuprizone; D013024:Soybean Oil; D003060:Cod Liver Oil