RESEARCH ARTICLE Omega-3 Fatty Acids for Depression in Multiple Sclerosis: A Randomized Pilot Study

Multiple sclerosis is the most common chronic disabling disease in the central nervous sys-tem in young to middle aged adults. Depression is common in multiple sclerosis (MS) affect-ing between 50–60 % of patients. Pilot studies in unipolar depression report an improvement in depression when omega-3 fatty acids are given with antidepressants. The objective of this study was to investigate whether omega-3 fatty acid supplementation, as an augmentation therapy, improves treatment-resistant major depressive disorder (MDD) in people with MS. We performed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study of omega-3 fatty acids at six grams per day over three months. The primary outcome was a 50 % or greater improvement on the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). Thirty-nine participants were randomized and thirty-one completed the 3-month intervention. Improvement on MADRS between groups was not significantly different at the 3-month end point with 47.4 % in the omega-3 fatty acid group and 45.5 % in the placebo group showing 50 % or greater improvement (p = 0.30). Omega-3 fatty acids as an augmen-tation therapy for treatment-resistant depression in MS was not significantly different than placebo in this pilot trial. Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation at the dose given was well-tol-erated over 3 months