After a study in mice discovered that the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish and other oils may protect against blindness in premature babies, researchers at Children's Hospital Boston are ready to test the results in a clinical trial.

The study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, focused on mice, mimicking the effects of omega-3 on retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), a blindness resulting from abnormal blood vessel growth in the eye that strikes premature children.

Mothers pass omega-3s to their children during the third trimester, when the eyes develop most rapidly. Premature babies miss out on some or all of that transfer, and omega-3s aren't added to the intravenous feeding that many require.

To test the effects of omega-3s, Dr. Lois Smith, an opthalmologist at Children's Hospital Boston, and colleagues at Harvard and the National Eye Institute fed half the mice a diet rich in omega-3s, while the other half received a western diet rich in omega-6s.

The omega-3 mice had their incidence of retinal disease cut in half.

"If omega-3 fatty acids, or these anti-inflammatory mediators, are as effective in humans as they are in mice, simple supplementation could be a cost-effective intervention benefiting millions of people," says Smith.

Now, Smith and her colleagues are ready to see if the results really are as effective in humans. The clinical trial will follow premature newborns who are receiving omega-3 fatty acids as part of their IV solution, with the hope that the supplement will allow the retina and its vessels to develop normally.

"We want to give omega-3 right from the beginning to mimic what the infants would be getting from their mothers in utero, had they not been born prematurely," Smith says. "Rather than give drugs, we're doing replacement treatment."

Prevention is the goal because there's no sure way to save vision once the disease strikes. Laser therapy decreases but doesn't eliminate the chance of blindness, and many babies who don't go blind still suffer serious damage.

The abnormal growth of blood vessels in ROP also triggers two leading causes of blindness in adults — diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration. Scientists are already studying if omega-3 fatty acids could protect adult eyes.

With files from the Associated Press