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New research has
found that people with depression who received a daily dose
of 1 gram of an omega-3 fatty acid for 12 weeks experienced
a decrease in their symptoms, such as sadness, anxiety and
sleeping problems.
The only side effect
of the treatment appeared to be mild gastrointestinal problems.
All the patients had already tried medications before enrolling
in the study, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
(SSRIs) such as Zoloft or Prozac, or medications from an older
family of drugs called tricyclic antidepressants. All the
aforementioned drugs are considered standard treatments of
depression.
Previous researchers
have suggested that the balance of omega-3 fatty acids in
the brain may become skewed in people with depression, and
earlier studies have shown that fish oil supplements can help
alleviate the symptoms of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder,
or manic depression.
But depression
isn't the only disease that may be affected by a person's
levels of omega-3 fatty acids. Researchers have found that
those who have been diagnosed with cardiovascular disease
and other conditions associated with depression, have low
levels of omega-3 fatty acids in their blood.
The study included
70 depressed patients who took a daily dose of one to 4 grams
of EPA or an inactive drug. The treatment lasted 12 weeks.
The doses were
either 1 gram, 2 grams or 4 grams of EPA. Those who took 1
gram experienced improvements akin to those given the inactive
drug, in all the measurable aspects of depression, including
sadness, anxiety, low sexual drive and suicidal tendencies.
There was a significant
improvement of those patients who took 1 gram of EPA daily:
69 percent of the patients achieved a 50 percent reduction
in their symptoms, in contrast to those who took the inactive
drug, where 25 percent of the patients saw improvement.
The higher-dosage
groups saw similar improvements, but no higher improvement
than those who took the 1 gram daily dose. The study's authors
surmise that this result may have had to do with the fact
that a small amount of people took the 2 or 4 grams per day.
They advised further trials to determine the efficacy of higher
doses of EPA in treatment of depression.
Archives
of General Psychiatry October 2002; 59: 913-919
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