Almost a third of patients with depression fail to respond to existing
treatments, and new treatments are required. Epidemiological evidence about
fish intake1 and blood levels of the relevant
fatty acids2-4
suggests that increased intakes of ω3 fatty acids such as eicosapentaenoic
acid (EPA) may be helpful. A mixture of EPA and docosahexaenoic acid has been
reported to improve depression and the course of illness in bipolar disorder,5 but to date, there are no reports of treatment
of unipolar depression using this approach.