TY - JOUR
T1 - Omega-3 fatty acids as a psychotherapeutic agent for a pregnant schizophrenic patient
AU - Su, Kuan Pin
AU - Shen, Winston W.
AU - Huang, Shih Yi
N1 - Funding Information:
The work was supported by the grants NSC 89-2320-B-038-046 from the National Science Council, TMC88-Y05-A121 from the Taipei Medical University, and China Chemical and Pharmaceutical Company, Taipei, Taiwan. The authors thank Li-Chia Chen, Tsung-Ta Liu, Chin-Hua Liu, Hui-Ting Yang and Hsin Chein for data collection.
Copyright:
Copyright 2007 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2001
Y1 - 2001
N2 - Because of the potential adverse events and teratogenesis of antipsychotic drugs, it is important to find a safe and effective treatment for pregnant women with severe mental illness. The membrane hypothesis of schizophrenia provides a rationale to treat symptoms of schizophrenia with omega-3 PUFAs. We report a 30-year-old married woman with chronic schizophrenia, who experienced an episode of acute exacerbation of psychotic symptoms during pregnancy. After entering into an open trial of omega-3 PUFAs monotherapy, she showed a dramatic improvement in both positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia and a significant increase of omega-3 PUFA composition in erythrocyte membrane. There were no adverse effects in this treatment. Thus, omega-3 PUFAs could be both beneficial and therapeutic to pregnant schizophrenic women.
AB - Because of the potential adverse events and teratogenesis of antipsychotic drugs, it is important to find a safe and effective treatment for pregnant women with severe mental illness. The membrane hypothesis of schizophrenia provides a rationale to treat symptoms of schizophrenia with omega-3 PUFAs. We report a 30-year-old married woman with chronic schizophrenia, who experienced an episode of acute exacerbation of psychotic symptoms during pregnancy. After entering into an open trial of omega-3 PUFAs monotherapy, she showed a dramatic improvement in both positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia and a significant increase of omega-3 PUFA composition in erythrocyte membrane. There were no adverse effects in this treatment. Thus, omega-3 PUFAs could be both beneficial and therapeutic to pregnant schizophrenic women.
KW - Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)
KW - Ecosapentaenoic acid (EPA)
KW - Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs)
KW - Pregnancy
KW - Schizophrenia
KW - Teratogenesis
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U2 - 10.1016/S0924-977X(01)00098-0
DO - 10.1016/S0924-977X(01)00098-0
M3 - Article
C2 - 11532384
AN - SCOPUS:0034893932
SN - 0924-977X
VL - 11
SP - 295
EP - 299
JO - European Neuropsychopharmacology
JF - European Neuropsychopharmacology
IS - 4
ER -
