Fish Oil for the Treatment of Depression in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis

Summary

This study will determine whether fish oil can reduce depression in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) who are mild to moderately depressed and are currently taking antidepressant medication. Study hypothesis: Three months of fish oil supplementation will improve depression scores on the Montgomery-Asberg depression rating scale (MADRS) or Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) better than placebo.

Timeline

Start

2005-07

Primary completion

2009-06

Completion

2009-06

Outcome

Missed primary endpoint

paper Improvement on MADRS between groups was not significantly different at the 3-month end point PMID 26799942 ↗

Publications

• Background Nemets B, Stahl Z, Belmaker RH. Addition of omega-3 fatty acid to maintenance medication treatment for recurrent unipolar depressive disorder. Am J Psychiatry. 2002 Mar;159(3):477-9. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.159.3.477.
• Background Su KP, Huang SY, Chiu CC, Shen WW. Omega-3 fatty acids in major depressive disorder. A preliminary double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol. 2003 Aug;13(4):267-71. doi: 10.1016/s0924-977x(03)00032-4.
• Background Peet M, Horrobin DF. A dose-ranging study of the effects of ethyl-eicosapentaenoate in patients with ongoing depression despite apparently adequate treatment with standard drugs. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2002 Oct;59(10):913-9. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.59.10.913.
• Shinto L, Marracci G, Mohr DC, Bumgarner L, Murchison C, Senders A, Bourdette D. Omega-3 Fatty Acids for Depression in Multiple Sclerosis: A Randomized Pilot Study. PLoS One. 2016 Jan 22;11(1):e0147195. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0147195. eCollection 2016.

Drugs

Indications