Fish Oil Capsules help major depression

Researchers at the University of Montréal examined the effects of Fish Oil capsules on major depression in this larger clinical trial. They demonstrated that a Fish Oil supplement containing a high amount of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) was associated with a reduction in major depression among patients who did not also have anxiety disorders.

Dr François Lespérance and his colleagues from the Université de Montréal reported the findings of a double-blinded, randomized trial conducted from October, 2005 through January, 2009 in 8 Canadian clinics. The trial included 432 adults experiencing a major depressive episode lasting at least 4 weeks. Participants were assigned to 8 weeks of a supplement providing 1,050 milligrams EPA and 150 milligrams DHA per day or a placebo. Depressive symptoms were self-evaluated at the beginning of the study and at 1, 2, 4 and 8 weeks.

When those with co-existing anxiety were removed from the analysis, the effect of supplementation with Fish Oils was similar to that of antidepressant drugs. "Despite significant progress in neuroscience over the past two decades, depression is difficult to treat," Dr Lespérance observed. The study was reported June 15, 2010 in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.