Conditions: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Keywords: PTSD Cognition Fish Oil Omega-3 Fatty Acid
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: PARALLEL
Enrollment: 18
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
An increasing literature shows that omega-3 fatty acids provide numerous health benefits, including a variety of psychiatric symptoms and disorders including stress, anxiety, cognitive impairment, mood disorders (major depression and bipolar disorder) and schizophrenia. Omega-3 fatty acids may additionally represent a promising treatment strategy in patients with PTSD. Moreover, given its beneficial cardiovascular effects, adjunctive omega-3 fatty acids may also benefit the general health status of these veterans, who frequently present with a variety of comorbid medical disorders.

Detailed description:
See brief summary

Arms:
arm 1: Omega-3 Fatty Acid arm 2: Placebo

Interventions: intervention 1: Omega-3 Fatty Acid intervention 2: Placebo
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: One capsule three times per day x 1 day (325mg EPA/225mg docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) tid) Two capsules three times per day x 1 day (650mg EPA/450mg DHA tid) Three capsules three times per day thereafter (975mg EPA/675mg DHA tid) intervention 2: Matching Placebo

Protocol document: