Table 3.
Effect of Supplemental Treatment with Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids or Combination of Antioxidants and Polyunsaturated Fatty in Patients with Schizophrenia, Observed in Double Blind Randomized Studies. Reports for Fatty Acid Supplemental Therapy were Included According to Data from Cochrane Library Data Base (Joy et al., 2007)
| Fatty Acids Studies | Method | Intervention | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emsley 2006 | 12 weeks, N=77 | E-EPA 2g/day | No significant difference in ESRS |
| Emsley 2002 | 12 weeks, N=40 | E-EPA 3g/day | Significant reduction in PANSS scores |
| Fenton 2001 | 16 weeks, N=90 | E-EPA 500 mg/day and vitamin E | No significant change in PANSS, M-ADRS, AIMS, S-ARS, CGI |
| Peet 2001 | 12 weeks, N=55 | EPA 2g, DHA 2g Comparative study | Significant reduction in PANSS scores. EPA is superior to DHA |
| Peet 2002 | 12 weeks, N=55 | EPA 1g/day, EPA 2g/day, EPA 3g/day, EPA 4g/day. Comparative study | Significant reduction in PANSS scores, the biggest for those who had EPA 2g/day |
| Vitamins E and C and fatty acids | |||
| Arvindakshan 2003 * | 4 months, N=33 | EPA/DHA 180:120 mg Vitamin E:C 400 IU/bid: 500mg/bid | Significant reduction of PANSS and BPRS and increase of QOL |
| Sivrioglu 2007 * | 4 months, N=17 | EPA/DHA 180:120 mg Vitamin E:C 400 IU/bid: 1000mg/day | Significant reduction of BPRS, SANS, S-ARS and BARS. |
Prospective open study.
(N- number of subjects, ESRS -Extrapyramidal Symptom Rating Scale, AIMS - Abnormal Involuntary Movement Syndrome scale, BPRS - Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, PANSS - Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, SANS - Scale for Assessment of Negative Symptoms, BARS - Barnes Akathisia Rating Scale, M-ADRS - Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale, S-ARS - Simpson-Angus Rating Scale, CGI - Clinical Global Impression scale, QOL - Henrich’s Quality of Life scale, EPA - Eicosapentaenoic Acid, E-EPA -Ethyl eicosapentaenoic acid, DHA - Docosahexaenoic acid).