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Randomized, placebo-controlled study of ethyl-eicosapentaenoic acid as supplemental treatment in schizophrenia
Robin Emsley1, Christo Myburgh, Pieter Oosthuizen
1Department of Psychiatry, University of Stellenbosch, Tygerberg, Cape Town, South Africa. rae@sun.ac.za
Objective:
The study investigated the efficacy and tolerability of ethyl-eicosapentaenoic acid (E-EPA) as add-on treatment in chronic, severe schizophrenia.
Method:
A randomized, parallel-group, double-blind, placebo-controlled, fixed-dose, add-on study was conducted over 12 weeks. Forty patients with persistent symptoms after at least 6 months of stable antipsychotic treatment received E-EPA or placebo, in addition to their existing treatment.
Results:
At 12 weeks, the E-EPA group had significantly greater reduction of Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale total scores and of dyskinesia scores than the placebo group.
Conclusions:
EPA may be an effective and well-tolerated add-on treatment in schizophrenia.