The Effects of EPA/DHA Supplementation on Cognitive Control in Children With ADHD

December 10, 2013 updated by: Unilever R&D

The Effects of Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA)/ Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) Supplementation on Cognitive Control in Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Forty children with and 40 children without Attention deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) receive Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) and Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) or placebo via a dietary intervention. Cognitive control functions are measured with functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) before and after the intervention. Behavioural change is monitored with behavioural scales.

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

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
79

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.
  • Not Applicable

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

  • Netherlands
      • Utrecht, Netherlands
        • Utrecht University Medical Center; Child and adolescent psychiatry

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

4 years to 8 years (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Male

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Inclusion criteria for subjects with ADHD

  1. 8-12 year old boys
  2. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 4th edition (DSM-IV (APA, 1994)) diagnosis of ADHD, according to Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC)
  3. Scores in the clinical range on the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) and Teacher Rating Form(TRF)
  4. Ability to speak and comprehend Dutch.
  5. Used to daily consumption of margarine

Inclusion criteria for controls

  1. 8-12 year old boys
  2. No DSM-IV (APA, 1994) diagnosis, according to DISC interview
  3. No scores in the clinical range on the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) and Teacher Rating Form (TRF)
  4. Ability to speak and comprehend Dutch. 5 Used to daily consumption of margarine

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. mental retardation (IQ < 70)
  2. major illness of the cardiovascular, the endocrine, the pulmonary or the gastrointestinal system
  3. presence of metal objects in or around the body (pacemaker, dental braces)
  4. history of or present neurological disorder
  5. regular use of n-3 or n-6 fatty acid dietary supplements, products fortified with EPA or DHA, a regular diet high in fatty fish (= 1 serving per week) or participation in intervention studies or (school-) health programs in the four months prior to study participation.

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: Basic Science
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Quadruple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
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.
Active Comparator: ADHD active
4 month intervention with EPA/DHA in ADHD group
Dietary supplement: Eicosapentaenoic acid / Docosahexaenoic acid
650 mg EPA + 650 mg DHA daily
Other Names:
  • DHA
  • EPA
Dietary supplement: Eicosapentaenoic acid / Docosahexaenoic acid
650 mg EPA and 650 mg DHA daily
Other Names:
  • DHA
  • EPA
Placebo Comparator: ADHD Placebo
4 month dietary intervention with placebo in ADHD group
Dietary supplement: Placebo dietary intervention (MUFA) in ADHD group
Placebo contains mono-unsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) in stead of poly-unsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), same energy value
Other Names:
  • Mono Unsaturated Fatty Acid
  • Poly Unsaturated Fatty Acid
Active Comparator: Active Healthy control
4 month dietary intervention with DHA/EPA in healthy control group
Dietary supplement: Eicosapentaenoic acid / Docosahexaenoic acid
650 mg EPA + 650 mg DHA daily
Other Names:
  • DHA
  • EPA
Dietary supplement: Eicosapentaenoic acid / Docosahexaenoic acid
650 mg EPA and 650 mg DHA daily
Other Names:
  • DHA
  • EPA
Placebo Comparator: Healthy placebo
4 month dietary intervention with placebo in healthy control group
Dietary supplement: Placebo dietary intervention (MUFA) in healthy control group
Placebo contains MUFA in stead of PUFA, same energy value
Other Names:
  • Mono Unsaturated Fatty Acids

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Cognitive control task - functional MRI
Time Frame: change over 16 week intervention period (pre/post)
change over 16 week intervention period (pre/post)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Behavioural scales: - Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) / Teacher Report Form (TRF) - Strengths and Weaknesses of ADHD-symptoms and Normal behaviour (SWAN) questionnaire
Time Frame: Change over 16 week intervention period (pre/post)
Change over 16 week intervention period (pre/post)
Fatty acids status from cheek cells (swabs)
Time Frame: Change over 16 week intervention period (pre/post)
Change over 16 week intervention period (pre/post)

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.
Unilever R&D

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.
UMC Utrecht

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.
  • Study Director: Marco Hoeksma, PhD, Unilever Research Vlaardingen
  • Principal Investigator: Sarah Durston, PhD, UMC Utrecht

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.
January 1, 2009

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
January 1, 2013

Study Completion (Actual)

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.
January 1, 2013

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 28, 2012

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.
March 12, 2012

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.
March 15, 2012

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.
December 11, 2013

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.
December 10, 2013

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.
December 1, 2013

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.
  • 08033V

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.

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