Fish oil, Omega 3, was found to protect those at high risk for first-episode psychotic disorders, according to the findings of Swiss, Austrian and Australian researchers writing in the February issue of The Archives of General Psychiatry. Researchers studied adolescents and young adults in a public hospital in Vienna who met criteria for for psychosis based on symptoms or functioning. The conversion rates from symptoms to psychosis in the group getting Omega 3 fatty acids was 4.9% compared to 27.5% for the group receiving a placebo. Improvements, scored according to the positive and negative symptoms of the PANSS, and the Global Assessment of Functioning scale, along with the "sustained effect" after the trial ended, encouraged authors to surmise Omega 3 "may offer a viable prevention and treatment strategy with minimal associated risk in young people at ultra-high risk of psychosis." The numbers of this double-blind placebo study were small (n=81) leading the authors to be cautious while also enthusiastic about further study. For every four people treated, one did not develop psychosis.
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by Phyllis Vine
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