Do fatty acids help in overcoming reading difficulties? A double-blind, placebo-controlled study of the effects of eicosapentaenoic acid and carnosine supplementation on children with dyslexia

What Was Tested

This controlled clinical trial paper looks at Carnosine.

There are claims that dietary supplementation of unsaturated fatty acids could help children with dyslexia to overcome their reading problems.

However, these claims have not yet been empirically tested.

Who Took Part

The age groups tagged for this paper are children, both men and women.

The experimental group (eicosapentaenoic acid, EPA, n = 30) ate dietary supplements and the control group (placebo, n = 31) placebos during the 90-day treatment period.

The literacy-related skills of the two groups were assessed before and after the treatment period.

How the Study Was Run

In design terms this was a double-blind and placebo-controlled study.

Neither the participants nor the staff measuring them knew who was on Carnosine, so expectations could not easily colour the readings.

The comparison arm used a placebo, so changes seen with Carnosine could be set against what happens without it.

The groups were matched for reading skills, grade, gender, attention problems, intelligence and amount of special education.

What Was Measured

However, these claims have not yet been empirically tested.

PubMed files the paper under topics including Carnosine, Case-Control Studies, Combined Modality Therapy, Dietary Supplements, Dyslexia, Eicosapentaenoic Acid and Finland.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Carnosine.

Results are reported in around 2 sentences of the abstract; we leave them to the paper itself rather than summarise them.

The publication is from 2009 (Child: care, health and development), a journal based in England.

More context: the Carnosine compound page, all human trials.