Treatment of Schizophrenia With an Omega-3 Fatty Acid (EPA) and Antioxidants

Objective: Study the effect of adding Ethyl-EPA and/or Vitamins E + C to antipsychotic drugs in younger patients with schizophrenia and related psychoses. Methods and material: * Design: Multicentre, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, fixed dose, 2x2 factorial, add-on clinical trial. * Sample: * Patients with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder or schizophreniform disorder (DSM-IV); aged 18-40 years; less than 15 years since first psychotic symptoms;admitted to a psychiatric department within the previous 21 days before screening; speaks fluently a Scandinavian language;treated with antipsychotics; written informed consent;no known allergy to trial agents;no substance dependence (DSM-IV);no warfarin currently or anamnestic indicators of impaired haemostasis. Planned: 200 patients. Actually included: 99 intent-to-treat patients. * Healthy controls: aged 18-40 years;no mental disorder (DSM-IV). Included: 20 persons. * Clinical assessments: Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) (main outcome variable). Self-report questionnaire. Adverse effects (UKURS). Neurocognitive assessment battery. Niacin skin flush test. General medical assessment. * Blood samples: RBC fatty acids, S-α-tocopherol, F2-isoprostane (kits), monocyte mRNA Phospholipase A22 (PLA2) Gr4a and 6a (RT-PCR method), RBC Gr4a PLA2 concentration (ELISA technique), a range of other biochemical tests. * Experimental treatment over 16 weeks: Ethyl-EPA 2 g/d or Placebo EPA and Vitamin E 364 mg/d + Vitamin C 1000 mg/d or Placebo Antioxidants * Statistics: Linear Mixed Model for longitudinal analyses of effects; other uni- and multivariate methods (SPSS 12.0 - PASW Statistics 18).