Ethyl Eicosapentanoic Acid (Ethyl-EPA) for Treating Major Depression

January 15, 2008 updated by: National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)

A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study of Ethyl Eicosapentanoic Acid (Ethyl-EPA) in Major Depressive Disorder

The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of ethyl-eicosapentanoic acid (ethyl-EPA), an omega-3 fatty acid, in treating depression.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Evidence suggests that omega-3 fatty acids may help reduce symptoms of depression. This study will determine whether ethyl-EPA, an omega-3 fatty acid, can be used safely and effectively to treat major depression.

Participants will be randomly assigned to receive either ethyl EPA-containing pills or placebo daily for 8 weeks. Each week, participants will be asked to complete questionnaires which will be used to assess the severity of their depression.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Anticipated)

80

Phase

  • Phase 3

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
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02114
        • Massachusetts General Hospital

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

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 80 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Major depressive disorder

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Serious comorbid psychiatric disorder
  • Unstable medical illness
  • Prior use of any omega-3 fatty acid product

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
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Alleviation of depressive symptoms

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)

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

September 1, 2001

Primary Completion (Actual)

August 1, 2007

Study Completion (Actual)

August 1, 2007

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 15, 2004

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 15, 2004

First Posted (Estimate)

November 16, 2004

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

January 17, 2008

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 15, 2008

Last Verified

January 1, 2008

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • K23AT001129 (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.

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