Fish Oil Can Help with Depression

[Guest guest]

I thought that some of you in the group might like to see this

important research report that came over the wire a few days ago.

 

Fish Oil May Help Relieve Stubborn Depression

Thu Oct 17,11:21 AM ET

 

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Daily supplements of an

omega-3 fatty acid--found in fish and fish oil--may

help alleviate the symptoms of depression in patients

who do not respond to standard antidepressant

medications, new research findings suggest.

 

Dr. Malcolm Peet of the Swallownest Court Hospital in

Sheffield, England and his colleague found that

depressed patients 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

gastrointestinal problems, which Peet and his

co-author Dr. David F. Horrobin of Laxdale Research,

Ltd. in Stirling, Scotland, deemed " mild. "

 

All of the patients had tried other medications before

enrolling in the current study, including selective

serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as Prozac

and medications from an older family of drugs called

tricyclic antidepressants. Both types of drug are

considered standard treatments for depression.

 

This is not the first study to suggest that omega-3

fatty acids, such as the form of eicosapenaenoic acid

(EPA) used in this report, may help patients with

psychiatric disorders. 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.

 

In addition, researchers have found that people who

are depressed, as well as those diagnosed with

cardiovascular diseases and other conditions

associated with depression, have relatively low levels

of omega-3 fatty acids in their blood.

 

In the current study, reported in the October issue of

the Archives of General Psychiatry, Peet and Horrobin

asked 70 depressed patients who had not benefited from

previous treatments to take a daily dose of either 1

gram, 2 grams or 4 grams of EPA, or an inactive drug.

The treatment lasted 12 weeks.

 

The investigators found that people given the 1 gram

daily EPA dose experienced improvements--relative to

those given the inactive drug--in all of the measured

aspects of depression, including sadness, anxiety, low

libido and suicidal tendencies. In fact, 69% of the

patients treated with the 1-gram daily dose achieved a

50% reduction in their symptoms of depression, a

result seen in only 25% of the patients given an

inactive drug.

 

" The effect of ethyl-eicosapentaenoate (the form of

EPA used) applies to all major components of the

depressive syndrome and is seen equally in the patient

and physician assessments, " the authors write.

 

Peet and Horrobin did not note any improvements in the

patients given higher doses of the fatty acid relative

to the placebo group, which they suggested may be due

to the small number of people who were given either 2

grams or 4 grams per day.

 

" Although there appeared to be a trend toward

significant efficacy at the 4-gram per day dosage,

larger studies would be required to elucidate possible

beneficial effects of the higher dosages, " they write.

 

SOURCE: Archives of General Psychiatry

2002;59:913-919.

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Those of you who would like to learn more about the benefits of fish

oil, as well as the different grades of fish oil currently available,

can visit:

 

http://www.authentic-breathing.com/fish_oil.htm

 

With my best wishes,

 

Dennis Lewis

 

http://www.authentic-breathing.com