ReviewCNS drugs2003
Clinical potential of omega-3 fatty acids in the treatment of schizophrenia.
Review in CNS drugs, 2003. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 72 citations in OpenAlex.
- Omega-3 fatty acids' effect on leptin and adiponectin concentrations in patients with spinal cord injury: A double-blinded randomized clinical trial.The journal of spinal cord medicine · 2015Trial
- Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation changes intracellular phospholipase A2 activity and membrane fatty acid profiles in individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis.Molecular psychiatry · 2014Trial
- Changes in erythrocyte membrane fatty acids during a clinical trial of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) supplementation in schizophrenia.Metabolic brain disease · 2009Trial
- Add-On Pharmacotherapy in Schizophrenia: Does It Improve Long-Term Outcomes? A Systematic Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Increased PLAEuropean archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2021Article
- Article
- Functional Implications of the IL-23/IL-17 Immune Axis in Schizophrenia.Molecular neurobiology · 2017Review
- ω-3PUFAs prevent MK-801-induced cognitive impairment in schizophrenic rats via the CREB/BDNF/TrkB pathway.Journal of Huazhong University of Science and Technology. Medical sciences = Hua zhong ke ji da xue xue bao. Yi xue Ying De wen ban = Huazhong keji daxue xuebao. Yixue Yingdewen ban · 2017Article
- Hippocampal Pruning as a New Theory of Schizophrenia Etiopathogenesis.Molecular neurobiology · 2016Article
- Niacin Skin Sensitivity Is Increased in Adolescents at Ultra-High Risk for Psychosis.PloS one · 2016Article
- Omega-3 fatty acids and the treatment of depression: a review of scientific evidence.Integrative medicine research · 2015Review
- 2-decenoic acid ethyl ester, a compound that elicits neurotrophin-like intracellular signals, facilitating functional recovery from cerebral infarction in mice.International journal of molecular sciences · 2012Article
- Whole-body synthesis secretion of docosahexaenoic acid from circulating eicosapentaenoic acid in unanesthetized rats.Journal of lipid research · 2009Article
- Omega-3 fatty acids improve recovery, whereas omega-6 fatty acids worsen outcome, after spinal cord injury in the adult rat.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2006Article
- Reduction in perseverative errors with adjunctive ethyl-eicosapentaenoic acid in patients with schizophrenia: Preliminary study.Prostaglandins, leukotrienes, and essential fatty acidsArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The phospholipids in the neuronal membranes of the brain are rich in highly unsaturated essential fatty acids (EFAs). It has been hypothesised that abnormalities of phospholipid metabolism are present in patients with schizophrenia and that the EFAs omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) in particular, may have a role in treating this illness. Considerable preclinical and clinical evidence provides support for this proposal. An epidemiological study reported a better outcome for patients with schizophrenia in countries where the diet is rich in unsaturated fatty acids. Evidence of abnormalities of EFAs has been found in erythrocyte membranes and cultured skin fibroblasts of patients with schizophrenia, and abnormal retinal function and niacin skin flush tests (markers of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid depletion) have also been reported. Case reports and an open-label clinical trial reported efficacy for EPA in schizophrenia. Four randomised, controlled trials of EPA versus placebo as supplemental medication have now been reported. Two of these trials showed significant benefit with EPA on the positive and negative symptom scale total scores, whereas the other two did not show any effects on this primary efficacy measure. One study also reported a beneficial effect on dyskinesia. In the only published trial in which EPA was used as monotherapy versus placebo in schizophrenia, some evidence was found to suggest antipsychotic activity. Taken together, there is considerable evidence to suggest abnormalities of EFAs in cell membranes of patients with schizophrenia, and there is preliminary evidence that EPA is an effective adjunct to antipsychotics.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.