Can Fish Oil Prevent Psychotic Symptoms?

Tuna Omega Oil 3

The study has been published in the February issue of Archives of General Psychiatry , one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Fish oil may be able to spare young people with signs of mental illness before it progresses into full-blown schizophrenia. This preliminary study of 81 patients ages 13-25 has shown some interesting links between mental illness and Omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil to possibly help brain cells repair and stabilize.

After a year of monitoring, 2 of the 41 patients in the fish oil group, or about 5%, had become psychotic, or completely out of touch with reality. In the placebo group, 11 of 40 became psychotic, about 28%.

“Schizophrenia is among the most mysterious and costliest diseases in terms of human suffering, so anything that gives some hope to avoid this is great,” said lead author Dr. G. Paul Amminger at the Orygen Youth Health Research Center at the University of Melbourne in Australia.

The authors also said, “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.”

February 2, 2010 | Filed Under Patient Resources | Leave a Comment