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Fish Oil may reduce the risk of Psychotic
Disorders in High-Risk Individuals
Newswise — Individuals at extremely high
risk of developing psychosis appear less
likely to develop psychotic disorders
following a 12-week course of fish oil
capsules containing long-chain omega-3
polyunsaturated fatty acids, according to a
report in the February issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives
journals.
“Early treatment in schizophrenia and other
psychoses has been linked to better
outcomes,” the authors write as background
information in the article.
“Given that subclinical psychotic symptoms
may predict psychotic disorder and psychosis
proneness in a population may be related to
the rate of psychotic disorder, intervention
in at-risk individuals holds the promise of
even better outcomes, with the potential to
prevent full-blown psychotic disorders.”
Long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty
acids are a promising intervention in
individuals with schizophrenia, who may have
an underlying dysfunction in fatty acid
metabolism, the authors note. G. Paul
Amminger, M.D., of Medical University of
Vienna, Austria, and Orygen Youth Health
Research Centre, Melbourne, Australia,
conducted a randomized, double-blind,
placebo-controlled clinical trial of their
effect on the risk of progression to
psychosis in 81 individuals at ultra–high
risk.
These individuals either had mild psychotic
symptoms, transient psychosis or a family
history of psychotic disorders plus a
decrease in functioning. These criteria
identify individuals whose risk of becoming
psychotic may be as high as 40 percent in a
12-month period.
For 12 weeks, 41 individuals were assigned
to take daily fish oil capsules containing
1.2 grams of omega-three polyunsaturated
fatty acids and 40 were assigned to take
placebo; a total of 76 (93.8 percent)
completed the intervention.
By the end of the study, two (4.9 percent)
in the omega-3 group and 11 (27.5 percent)
in the placebo group had transitioned to
psychotic disorder. The difference between
progression to psychosis was 22.6 percent.
Based on the results, the authors estimate
that four adults would need to be treated
with omega-3 fatty acids to prevent one from
developing psychosis over a 12-month period.
Polyunsaturated fatty acids also
significantly reduced symptoms and improved
functioning compared with placebo. Rates of
adverse effects were minimal and similar
between the two groups.
The potential effects of fatty acids on
psychosis development may result from
changes to cell membranes and interactions
with neurotransmitter systems in the brain,
the authors note.
“The
finding that treatment with a natural
substance may prevent or at least delay the
onset of psychotic disorder gives hope that
there may be alternatives to antipsychotics
for the prodromal [early symptomatic]
phase,” the authors write.
“Stigmatization and adverse effects—which
include metabolic changes, sexual
dysfunction and weight gain—associated with
the use of antipsychotics are often not
acceptable for young people.”
In contrast, omega-3 fatty acids may cause
some digestive complications but largely
“are free of clinically relevant adverse
effects. They have the advantage of
excellent tolerability, public acceptance,
relatively low costs and benefits for
general health,” the authors conclude.
“Long-chain omega-3 fatty polyunsaturated
fatty acids reduce the risk of progression
to psychotic disorder and may offer a safe
and efficacious strategy for indicated
prevention in young people with subthreshold
psychotic states.”
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