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 .
A randomized controlled study of the efficacy of six-month supplementation with concentrated fish oil rich in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in first episode schizophrenia.
Short-term clinical trials of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids ( n-3 PUFA ) as add-on therapy in patients with schizophrenia revealed mixed results . The majority of these studies used an 8- to 12-week intervention based on ethyl-eicosapentaenoic acid . A r and omized placebo-controlled trial was design ed to compare the efficacy of 26-week intervention , composed of either 2.2 g/day of n-3 PUFA , or olive oil placebo , with regard to symptom severity in first-episode schizophrenia patients . Seventy-one patients ( aged 16 - 35 ) were enrolled in the study and r and omly assigned to the study arms . The primary outcome measure of the clinical evaluation was schizophrenia symptom severity change measured by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale ( PANSS ) . Mixed models repeated measures analysis revealed significant differences between the study arms regarding total PANSS score change favouring n-3 PUFA ( p = 0.016 ; effect size ( ES ) = 0.29 ) . A fifty-percent improvement in symptom severity was achieved significantly more frequently in the n-3 PUFA group than in the placebo group ( 69.4 vs 40.0 % ; p = 0.017 ) . N-3 PUFA intervention was also associated with an improvement in general psychopathology , measured by means of PANSS ( p = 0.009 ; ES = 0.32 ) , depressive symptoms ( p = 0.006 ; ES = 0.34 ) , the level of functioning ( p = 0.01 ; ES = 0.31 ) and clinical global impression ( p = 0.046 ; ES = 0.29 ) . The findings suggest that 6-month intervention with n-3 PUFA may be a valuable add-on therapy able to decrease the intensity of symptoms and improve the level of functioning in first-episode schizophrenia patients
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 .