Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Omega-3 Fatty Acids and PTSD

An increasing literature shows that omega-3 fatty acids provide numerous health benefits, including a variety of psychiatric symptoms and disorders including stress, anxiety, cognitive impairment, mood disorders (major depression and bipolar disorder) and schizophrenia. Omega-3 fatty acids may additionally represent a promising treatment strategy in patients with PTSD. Moreover, given its beneficial cardiovascular effects, adjunctive omega-3 fatty acids may also benefit the general health status of these veterans, who frequently present with a variety of comorbid medical disorders.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Placebo; Drug: Omega-3 Fatty Acid

Detailed Description

See brief summary

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 18
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • North Carolina
    • Durham, North Carolina, United States, 27705
      • Durham VA Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Veterans 18-65 years of age, any ethnic group, either sex.
2. Ability to participate fully in the informed consent process.
3. Current diagnosis of PTSD .
4. No anticipated need to alter medications for the 10-week duration of the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Serious unstable medical illness, history of traumatic brain injury (TBI) with loss of consciousness greater than 30 minutes, or history of cerebrovascular accident, prostate or breast cancer.
2. Current active suicidal and/or homicidal ideation, intent or plan.
3. Use of aspirin, warfarin or other anticoagulant therapy, as omega-3 fatty acids may increase bleeding time. Other concomitant medications for medical conditions will be addressed on a case-by-case base and determined if exclusionary.
4. Regular use of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation within the last 3 months (cod liver oil, other fish oil, flaxseed).
5. Regular consumption of more than one serving of fatty fish per week.
6. Substance dependence within the last 4 weeks (other than nicotine dependence).
7. Current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) diagnosis of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or other psychotic disorder, or cognitive disorder due to a general medical condition other than TBI.
8. Female patients who are pregnant or breast-feeding.
9. Known allergy to study medication.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Quadruple

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Placebo Comparator: 2; Placebo	Drug: Placebo; Matching Placebo
Active Comparator: 1; Omega-3 Fatty Acid	Drug: Omega-3 Fatty Acid; One capsule three times per day x 1 day (325mg EPA/225mg docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) tid) Two capsules three times per day x 1 day (650mg EPA/450mg DHA tid) Three capsules three times per day thereafter (975mg EPA/675mg DHA tid); Other Names: Fish Oil

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS)	Mean change scores in posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms (Week 10 (Week 8 Post-Randomization) minus Week 2 (Baseline)). Scores may range from 0 (no symptoms) to 136 (severe symptoms; score of 136 is based on the first 17 CAPS items administered). A reduced CAPS score indicates a reduction in (improvement) PTSD symptoms, while an increase in CAPS score indicates an increase (worsening) in PTSD symptoms.	Week 2 (Baseline) and Week 10 (Week 8 Post-Randomization)
Brief Assessment of Cognition in Affective Disorders (BAC-A)	Mean change scores to assess cognitive changes (Week 10 (Week 8 Post-Randomization) minus Week 2 (Baseline)). The BAC-A includes brief assessments of executive functions, verbal fluency, attention, verbal memory, working memory and motor speed. Z-scores are calculated from composite scores. Higher z-scores are indicative of better cognitive performance, lower z-scores are indicative of lower cognitive performance. Range of z-scores anticipated to be between -3 and 3. Mean change scores from week 2 and week 10 (Week 2 minus Week 10).	Week 2 (Baseline) and Week 10 (Week 8 Post-Randomization)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (QIDS)	Mean change scores in depressive symptomatology (Week 10 (Week 8 Post-Randomization) minus Week 2 (Baseline)). The QIDS total scores range from 0 to 27. Total score is obtained by adding the scores for each of the nine symptom domains of the DSM-IV Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) criteria: depressed mood,loss of interest or pleasure,concentration/decision making,self-outlook,suicidal ideation, energy/fatigability, sleep,weight/appetite change, and psychomotor changes. Each item is rated 0-3 (0=least or no severity, 3=greatest severity). Higher values reflect more severe symptoms.	Week 2 (Baseline) and Week 10 (Week 8 Post-Randomization)
Connor Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC)	Mean change scores in resiliency (Week 10 (Week 8 Post-Randomization) minus Week 2 (Baseline)). The CD-RISC was developed and tested as (i) a measure of degree of resilience, (ii) as a predictor of outcome to treatment with medication or psychotherapy, stress management and resilience-building, (iii) as a marker of progress during treatment, and (iv) as a marker of biological changes in the brain. The scale comprises 25 items, each rated on a 5-point scale (0-4) for a total range of 0-100, with higher scores reflecting greater resilience.	Week 2 (Baseline) and Week 10 (Week 8 Post-Randomization)
Continuous Performance Test (CPT)	Mean change scores in inpulsivity (Week 10 (Week 8 Post-Randomization) minus Week 2 (Baseline)). Computer test. Patient is to press button if target appears, but not at non-target. Impulsivity variables during test: CE=percent of response to non-target; ANT=percent of responses prior to target presentation. Results are converted to Q-scores (age and sex-adjusted normalized scores with a mean=0 and standard deviation=1 in the general population, expressing the probability determined by the Gamma function in terms of standard deviation of Gaussian density). Higher scores reflect more severe symptoms.	Week 2 (Baseline) and Week 10 (Week 8 Post-Randomization)
Trail Making A	Mean change scores in cognition and attention (Week 10 (Week 8 Post-Randomization) minus Week 2 (Baseline)). Trail Making Test is a measure used to assess cognition and attention. Trail Making, Part A is a timed test that consists of 25 circles on a piece of paper with the numbers 1-25 written randomly in circles. The respondent is asked to draw a line from number one, and so on, in correct numerical order, until they reach number 25. Results are reported as the number of seconds required to complete the task. Higher scores indicate greater impairment.	Week 2 (Baseline) and Week 10 (Week 8 Post-Randomization)
Trail Making B	Mean change scores in attention and cognition (Week 10 (Week 8 Post-Randomization) minus Week 2 (Baseline)). Trail Making Test is a measure used to assess cognition and attention. Trail Making, Part B is a timed test that consists of 25 circles on a piece of paper with both numbers (1 - 13) and letters (A - L); the patient draws lines to connect the circles in an ascending pattern, but with the added task of alternating between the numbers and letters (i.e., 1-A-2-B-3-C, etc.). The respondent is asked to draw a line from number one, and so on,in correct numerical/alphabetical order, until they reach number 13. Results are reported as the number of seconds required to complete the task. Higher scores indicate greater impairment.	Week 2 (Baseline) and Week 10 (Week 8 Post-Randomization)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Durham VA Medical Center
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Christine E Marx, MD,MA, Durham VA Medical Center

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 22, 2008
• Primary Completion (Actual): July 15, 2010
• Study Completion (Actual): July 15, 2010

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 20, 2008
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 25, 2008
• First Posted (Estimate): March 26, 2008

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 20, 2019
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 29, 2019
• Last Verified: July 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: PTSD; Cognition; Fish Oil; Omega-3 Fatty Acid
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders; Stress Disorders, Traumatic; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
• Other Study ID Numbers: VA IRB# 01210