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This page is an AI-assisted Turkish summary of the study presented at the 26th World Congress of Psychiatry. The study belongs to the presenting authors; please refer to the original source when citing it.

The fish that got away: a clinical trial investigating specialized pro-resolving lipid mediators and treatment-resistant depression

The fish that got away: a clinical trial examining specialized pro-resolving lipid mediators and treatment resistant depression

An EPA-rich omega-3 preparation administered as an adjunctive treatment for treatment-resistant depression was well tolerated in a small sample; analyses of biological and depression-related outcomes are ongoing.

The study aimed to investigate the effects of an eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)-rich preparation on plasma 18-HEPE levels, the relationship between these levels and clinical response, and the preparation's effects on peripheral inflammatory biomarkers; treatment-resistant depression (TRD) remains a challenging condition to manage, and personalized medicine is a growing approach in this field. In a 12-week, placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized controlled trial, adults diagnosed with treatment-resistant major depression, with a body mass index between 25 and 45 kg/m2 and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels between 3 and 10 mg/L, received 4 g per day of EPA-rich n-3 as an adjunctive treatment. 18-HEPE and other biomarkers were measured before and after treatment, and depression outcomes were assessed using the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). Recruitment was unusually difficult because of additional safety criteria imposed by the funding agency and barriers in the post-pandemic period; a total of 14 participants were randomized, and 11 completed the study. The omega-3 preparation was well tolerated; the most common adverse events were belching (n=2), diarrhea (n=2), and maculopapular rash (n=2); one participant developed uncontrolled hypertension, which was considered unrelated to the intervention, and was withdrawn from the study. Analyses of biological and depression-related findings are ongoing and will be shared during the presentation. The presentation will also discuss the importance of carefully selecting inclusion and exclusion criteria when investigating personalized treatments for depression, as well as more effective recruitment strategies in the post-pandemic period.

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