The simple addition of fish oil seems to relieve the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in some children, report researchers in Montreal. While the results are modest, their study could offer alternative approach to ADHD treatment.

It's estimated that up to five per cent of all school age children have symptoms of ADHD. Patients typically can't stay on task, have poor concentration, and have trouble staying still or control his or her impulses.

Although there is no cure for ADHD, there are ways to manage its symptoms through behaviour management and medications, such as Ritalin, that stimulate the brain's chemistry to make it work more efficiently.

But some children don't respond well to medications. Other patients want more natural alternatives. Now, researchers in Montreal have completed the first Canadian study that may offer an alternative.

Researchers led by Dr. Stacey Belanger, a pediatrician and director of the ADHD clinic at CHU Sainte-Justine University Hospital in Montreal, wanted to know whether adding Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil would help children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Some have theorized that Omega-3 fatty acids are important for neurotransmission in the brain and could help to rectify the biochemical imbalances that affect those with ADHD.

Belanger's team looked at 37 children between the ages of six and 11 years old who had been diagnosed with ADHD and who had never been on medication. Half were given fish oil capsules that had been specially-formulated for the study.

For most of the children, there was no effect after four months of supplements. But for a subgroup of the children, there were definite improvements.

Using standard tests for evaluating ADHD symptoms, the researchers found that 20 per cent of children were less agitated, and showed a decrease in their hyperactivity and in the impulsivity, which resulted in better school functioning and social functioning.

"Compared to medication, which is effective in about 90 per cent of children, the supplementation with the Omega-3 fatty acid did not seem to be benefit all groups of children with ADHD. But there is definitely a subgroup of children that respond very well to the medication, to the supplements," Belanger told CTV News.

What's more, he added, there were no side effects from the fish oil pills, as opposed to ADHD medications, which can present side effects such as dizziness or insomnia.

The results are published in Paediatrics & Child Health, the official journal of the Canadian Paediatric Society.

Ten-year-old Patricia Robichaud was one of those who benefitted from the fish oil. Her father, Daniel, says that before the study, Patricia had trouble concentrating, was agitated at night and had difficulty with her sleep.

"I have found there is a big difference in my daughter when she began to take the Omega-3s. She had better concentration and she slept better and she had a better attitude," Robichaud says.

Interestingly, when Belanger's team evaluated the fatty acid levels in the children they studied, none of them had deficiencies. But they did have lower levels of some of the precursor elements that are required to metabolize Omega-3s.

"And by supplementing them, there was an increase in these precursors," says Belanger. "In the eight children out of the 37 who responded very well to this study, there was a significant increase in these precursors."

Some specialists, such as Dr. Atilla Turgay, director of the ADHD clinic at the Scarborough Hospital, remain skeptical and think standard mediations like Ritalin will remain the standard treatment for most patients.

"I don't think parents will jump into this or that doctors will do this instead of regular approved and appropriate ADHD medications," he says.

With a report from CTV's medical specialist Avis Favaro and producer Elizabeth St. Philip