Giving extremely preterm babies (born before the 28^th week of pregnancy) a supplement containing a mixture of the omega-6 fatty acid arachidonic acid (AA) and the omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) significantly improved visual function by two-and-a-half years of age.  
 
These findings were published in The Lancet Regional Health Europe which covered 178 extremely preterm babies who were given the two ingredients, which aren’t routinely given to extremely preterm babies immediately after birth.
 
Previous research by the team found that administering this combination of ingredients halved the risk of developing ROP (retinopathy of prematurity), a sight-threatening eye condition. In the present study, treatment with the combination supplement improved measures of visual development by two and a half years of corrected age (i.e. age from the estimated full-term date of birth). However, the authors noted that follow-up rate was low for visual acuity tests, and statistical power was limited, so additional studies will be highly important.
 
“The study shows that children who have received the combination supplement had improved visual function, regardless of whether or not they had previously had ROP,” said Pia Lundgren, an associate professor in pediatric eye research at University of Gothenburg’s Sahlgrenska Academy and chief physician at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, and lead author of the study. “The improved visual development was thus not only due to the beneficial effect on the retina. The supplement also seems to have improved the brain’s ability to interpret visual impressions.”
 
Sweden currently lacks precise guidelines for administering fatty acid supplements to extremely preterm children, but the guidelines are presently being revised in part due to this study’s findings.
 
“Importantly, we can now demonstrate the positive effects that the combination supplement appears to have on visual development when the child is older,” Lundgren said. “In the continued studies — on the same group of children — we will also look more closely at cognitive and neurological development, which will be particularly interesting.”