NEW YORK, May 13 (Reuters Health) -- Daily supplements of fish oil may help control the 'mood swings' of patients with bipolar disorder (manic depression), according to researchers.
Omega 3 fatty acids -- compounds found in fish oil -- helped control bipolar symptoms in the short term and "may prove to be efficacious, well-tolerated, inexpensive, and desirable mood stabilizing compounds," write study lead authors Dr. Andrew Stoll of Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, and Dr. Lauren Marangell of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. Their findings are published in the May issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.
Many experts believe that the mood swings seen in bipolar disorder are triggered by overactive signaling between neurons in the brain. Many of the drugs used to treat bipolar disorder act by slowing down this neuronal activity.
Previous research has suggested that the consumption of omega 3 fatty acids is also associated with "a general dampening" of these brain-signaling pathways, according to the authors.
In their study, 30 patients with bipolar disorder received daily supplements of either fish oil or an olive oil 'placebo' over a 4-month period, in addition to their normal therapy.
According to the researchers, patients receiving fish oil "had a significantly longer period of remission (from illness) than the placebo group." Patients receiving fish oil also displayed considerable improvement on tests assessing levels of depression and other bipolar symptoms.
Fish oil supplementation was generally well-tolerated by most of the patients, the authors report, although about half reported experiencing some mild gastrointestinal discomfort.
Psychiatric patients are especially difficult to treat because of their tendency to stop taking recommended therapy. However, the study subjects displayed "unusually high... interest and acceptance" in using fish oil supplements to treat their disorder, according to Stoll and Marangell. They believe "this interest was based mainly on the recognition that omega 3 fatty acids are...'natural' compounds with few side-effects." High patient acceptance of fish oil supplements "could lead to greater long-term compliance with treatment," the authors conclude.
In an editorial, Dr. Joseph Calabrese and colleagues at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, call the trial a "landmark attempt in drug development for bipolar disorder." However, they believe the findings must be replicated in larger studies before experts can draw any firm conclusions regarding the effectiveness of omega 3 fatty acids in the control of bipolar symptoms.
SOURCE: Archives of General Psychiatry 1999;56:407-412, 413-414, 415-416.
