Omega 3 fatty acids in bipolar disorder: a preliminary double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
BACKGROUND
Omega3 fatty acids may inhibit neuronal signal transduction pathways in a manner similar to that of lithium carbonate and valproate, 2 effective treatments for bipolar disorder. The present study was performed to examine whether omega3 fatty acids also exhibit mood-stabilizing properties in bipolar disorder.


METHODS
A 4-month, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, comparing omega3 fatty acids (9.6 g/d) vs placebo (olive oil), in addition to usual treatment, in 30 patients with bipolar disorder.


RESULTS
A Kaplan-Meier survival analysis of the cohort found that the omega3 fatty acid patient group had a significantly longer period of remission than the placebo group (P = .002; Mantel-Cox). In addition, for nearly every other outcome measure, the omega3 fatty acid group performed better than the placebo group.


CONCLUSIONS
Omega3 fatty acids were well tolerated and improved the short-term course of illness in this preliminary study of patients with bipolar disorder.
Stoll
A L
AL
Brigham and Women's Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass, USA. alstoll@mclean.harvard.edu
Severus
W E
WE
Freeman
M P
MP
Rueter
S
S
Zboyan
H A
HA
Diamond
E
E
Cress
K K
KK
Marangell
L B
LB
D000328:Adult; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D002220:Carbamazepine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008094:Lithium / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010919:Placebos; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014635:Valproic Acid / Q000627:therapeutic use
D000927:Anticonvulsants; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3; D010919:Placebos; D002220:Carbamazepine; D014635:Valproic Acid; D008094:Lithium