Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Bipolar Disorder

August 17, 2006 updated by: National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)

Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Bipolar Disorder Prophylaxis

This is a 12 month study of omega-3 fatty acids in bipolar disorder. This study will be a 12-month, parallel group, double-blind comparison of the prophylactic efficacy of omega-3 fatty acids vs. placebo in 120 bipolar I patients. All subjects entering the primary prophylactic study will be euthymic or have only subsyndromal mood symptoms for at least 4 weeks. In addition, their concomitant medication (only lithium, divalproex, or no medication will be permitted) will also be stable and at accepted therapeutic levels for at least 4 weeks. An 8-week lead-in phase will be available to subjects who do not meet the current symptom and concomitant medication inclusion criteria (however, subjects must meet all of the other inclusion/exclusion criteria): 1. 4 weeks of euthymic or subsyndromal mood. 2. Subjects who are not already receiving lithium or divalproex. 3. Subjects receiving other psychotropic medications.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Massachusetts
      • Belmont, Massachusetts, United States, 02478
        • Mclean Hospital
    • Texas
      • Houston, Texas, United States, 77030
        • Baylor College of Medicine

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

14 years to 61 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Meet DSM-IV criteria for bipolar disorder, type I.
  • Have had an episode of mania, hypomania, mixed mania, or major depression within the preceding 12 months, as defined by SCID criteria.
  • Able to give informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with significant medical co-morbidity, such as active hepatic or renal disease, any type of coagulopathy, lipidoses, dementia, history of significant head injury, active cancer or cancer treatment, or other medical problems which may interfere with the absorption and metabolism of omega-3 fatty acids. In addition, any medical disorder with symptoms (e.g. aphasia, encephalopathy, etc.) which would make it difficult to determine the clinical response to the study drugs.
  • Patients with significant psychiatric co-morbidity, such as another currently active Axis 1 or 2 disorder requiring treatment. Patients with other, active mental disorders may have psychiatric symptoms that would make it difficult to assess mood response to the study drugs. For example, a patient with significant anxiety or panic symptoms requiring medication would be excluded, whereas a patient with past or currently very mild anxiety symptoms not requiring active treatment would be eligible.
  • Patients receiving Coumadin, or other drugs with strong effects on coagulation will be excluded due to the theoretical increased risk of bleeding on omega-3 fatty acid therapy. Low dose or intermittent NSAIDs will be permitted.
  • Patients receiving drugs which affect lipid metabolism, such as HMG CoA inhibitors, high-dose niacin, gemfibrozil, and others.
  • Pregnant patients - due to the unknown effects of high dose omega-3 fatty acids on the fetus.
  • Patients who, in the investigator's judgment pose a current serious suicidal or homicidal risk, or patients who will not likely be able to comply with the study protocol.
  • Bipolar patients receiving clozapine. These patients will be excluded due to the likelihood of extreme treatment resistance in clozapine-treated bipolar disorder. It may be unwise to discontinue the patient's clozapine, since recurrence may occur. Also, based on uncontrolled data, clozapine may be a uniquely effective mood stabilizer, which would add a potential confound to the study.
  • Patients who meet DSM-IV criteria for substance abuse within 1 month of this trial or substance dependence within 3 months.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Pronova BioPharma

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Andrew L. Stoll, M.D., Mclean Hospital

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
July 1, 2000

Study Completion

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
July 1, 2004

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
February 2, 2001

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 2, 2001

First Posted (Estimate)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
February 5, 2001

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
August 18, 2006

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 17, 2006

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
July 1, 2006

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • R01AT000161-02 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Cookie Settings

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. For more details carefully read our Privacy and Cookies Policy. ...>>>You can change your preferences or withdraw your consent at any time by deleting the cookies from your website or computer as described in the policy. Please accept it and choose your preferences by ticking the corresponding boxes in the "Manage Settings" section below. Please carefully read our Terms of Service before you proceed with using any part of this website.
«Manage Settings