Retinopathy is a medical condition in which a deterioration of the retina occurs. Prematurely born infants suffer from this disease and their retinal blood vessels increase in numbers excessively, sometimes leading to bleeding or scarring. Infants who progress to a severe form of retinopathy are in danger of becoming permanently blind.

The results of this study can determine advances in studying the causes and remedies of diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration (diabetic retinopathy is a disease in which ocular blood vessels swell and leak fluid or grow abnormally on the surface of the retina and the macular degeneration is a serious disease of the macula, the part of the eye responsible for central vision).

Studies conducted on lab mice showed that administering omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids protects against the development of retinopathy.

This study, whose results have been published in July 2007, tried to study the potential benefits of omega 3 fatty acids in treating and preventing retinal diseases. Because the retinopathy in mice shares many characteristics with retinopathy in humans, it was possible to study the omega 3 EPA and DHA fatty acids on the loss of ocular blood vessels, the re-growth of healthy vessels and the growth of destructive abnormal vessels within the eye.

Scientists concluded that if you increase the omega 3 fatty acids intake, while reducing the amount of omega 6 fats in your diet, the area of blood vessels lost which can lead to permanent blindness is greatly reduced. Lowering the amount of omega 6 fatty acids is also recommended because these fatty acids are responsible for a series of inflammatory conditions and the growth of abnormal blood vessels in the retina. Mice fed with a diet containing higher amounts of omega 3 fatty acids compared to omega 6 fats witnessed an almost 50% decrease in retinopathy.

Omega 4 fats help the body produce a series of chemical compounds, bioactive mediators. These mediators protect the eye against the growth of abnormal blood vessels, a major cause for retinopathy. The bioactive mediators stop the production of an inflammatory protein, called tumor necrosis alpha, a type of protein closely related to ocular conditions.

Currently, scientists at the National Eye Institute conduct clinical studies on the potential benefic effects of omega 3 fatty acids (especially DHA and EPA) in preventing and treating several age related ocular problems as well as ocular problems in small children.