The most common treatment for childhood asthma is the use of corticosteroid drugs,synthetic version of the hormone cortisol,which is normally produced by the adrenal glands.Corticostreroids can be inhaled or taken in pill form and are powerfull drugs with potentially devastating side effects. In particular, I am concerned about the effect of inhaled corticosteroids on BDNF, the growth hormone in the brain that is critical for brain development. German researchers recently found that asthmatic patient who used inhaled corticosteroids had significantly lower levels of BDNF than asthmatic patients not treated with these drugs. The long-term use of inhaled corticosteroids can cause other worrisome nasty side effects, specifially including damage to the hippocampus, the memory center of the brain, not to mention a slew of other physical problems including blood sugar abnormalities and thining of bones.
The best way to offset the reduction of BDNF caused by the use of steroid medication is to make sure your child takes a DHA supplement each day. Due to the antiinflammatory effect of DHA, I think it's wise for all children with asthma to take extra DHA whether or not they are taking steroids.
- Children between the ages of 6 months to 2 years should take 200 milligrams of DHA daily.
- Children between the ages of 2 months to 5 should take 400 milligrams of DHA daily.
