However , mechanistic studies found significant improvements in hippocampal neuronal health and brain glutathione .
CONCLUSION There is preliminary evidence that taurine improves outcomes in FEP , whereas effects of omega-3 and antioxidant vitamins/amino-acids are inconsistent ; perhaps mainly benefitting patients with high levels of oxidative stress .
AIM The effects of nutrient-based treatments , including adjunctive vitamin or antioxidant supplementation , have been explored extensively in long-term schizophrenia .
However , no systematic evaluation of trials in " first-episode psychosis " ( FEP ) has been conducted , despite the potential benefits of using these treatments during the early stages of illness .
Therefore , we aim ed to review all studies examining efficacy , tolerability and the biological mechanisms of action , of nutrient supplementation in FEP .
Ethyl-eicosapentaenoic acid in first-episode psychosis: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial.
OBJECTIVE To investigate if ethyl-eicosapentaenoic acid ( E-EPA ) augmentation improves antipsychotic efficacy and tolerability in first-episode psychosis ( FEP ) . METHOD We performed a 12-week , r and omized , double-blind , placebo-controlled trial of 2-g E-EPA augmentation in 80 FEP patients . Sixty-nine patients were eligible for analysis ; a post hoc analysis was computed for a subgroup of nonaffective FEP patients ( N = 53 ) . The first participant was included in November 2000 and the last participant completed the trial in August 2003 . Primary outcome measures were symptom change scores and time to first response , while tolerability measures and cumulative antipsychotic dose were secondary outcome measures . RESULTS Analysis of covariance controlling for baseline symptoms found no significant mean difference between E-EPA and placebo at week 12 for symptom change scores . Cox regression analysis revealed a significant treatment by diagnosis interaction ( p = .024 ) for time to first response favoring E-EPA in nonaffective psychosis . Post hoc analysis for cumulative response rates further confirmed a higher response rate at week 6 ( 42.9 % [ 15/35 ] vs. 17.6 % [ 6/34 ] for all participants , p = .036 ; 54.2 % [ 13/24 ] vs. 17.2 % [ 5/29 ] for the nonaffective psychosis subset , p = .008 ) ; however , the difference at week 12 was no longer significant . Analysis of secondary outcome measures revealed that E-EPA-augmented participants needed 20 % less antipsychotic medication between weeks 4 through 6 ( p = .03 ) , had less extrapyramidal side effects in the initial 9 weeks ( p < .05 for all participants and for all timepoints ) , and reported less constipation ( p = .011 ) and fewer sexual side effects ( p = .016 ) than those treated with antipsychotic medication alone . CONCLUSION The findings suggest that E-EPA may accelerate treatment response and improve the tolerability of antipsychotic medications . However , it was not possible to demonstrate a sustained symptomatic benefit of E-EPA in early psychosis , possibly due to a ceiling effect , since a high proportion of first-episode patients already achieve symptomatic remission with antipsychotic medication alone . Further controlled trials in nonaffective early psychosis seem warranted . TRIAL REGISTRATION Australian Clinical Trials Registry identifier 12605000267651 ( http://actr.org.au )
However , mechanistic studies found significant improvements in hippocampal neuronal health and brain glutathione .
CONCLUSION There is preliminary evidence that taurine improves outcomes in FEP , whereas effects of omega-3 and antioxidant vitamins/amino-acids are inconsistent ; perhaps mainly benefitting patients with high levels of oxidative stress .
AIM The effects of nutrient-based treatments , including adjunctive vitamin or antioxidant supplementation , have been explored extensively in long-term schizophrenia .
However , no systematic evaluation of trials in " first-episode psychosis " ( FEP ) has been conducted , despite the potential benefits of using these treatments during the early stages of illness .
Therefore , we aim ed to review all studies examining efficacy , tolerability and the biological mechanisms of action , of nutrient supplementation in FEP .