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Suneson K, Söderberg Veibäck G, Lindahl J, Tjernberg J, Ståhl D, Ventorp S, Ängeby F, Lundblad K, Wolkowitz OM, Lindqvist D. Omega-3 fatty acids for inflamed depression - A match/mismatch study. Brain Behav Immun 2024; 118:192-201. [PMID: 38432599 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2024.02.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2023] [Revised: 01/31/2024] [Accepted: 02/27/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Despite decades of research on the pathophysiology of depression, the development of new therapeutic interventions has been slow, and no biomarkers of treatment response have been clinically implemented. Several lines of evidence suggest that the clinical and biological heterogeneity among patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) has hampered progress in this field. MDD with low-grade inflammation - "inflamed depression" - is a subtype of depression that may be associated with a superior antidepressant treatment response to anti-inflammatory compounds. Omega-3 fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) has anti-inflammatory properties, and preliminary data suggest that it may be particularly efficacious in inflamed depression. In this study we tested the hypothesis that add-on EPA has greater antidepressant efficacy in MDD patients with high baseline high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) compared to MDD patients with low hs-CRP. All subjects received 2.2 g EPA, 400 mg docosahexaenoic acid and 800 mg of other fatty acids daily for 8 weeks, added to stable ongoing antidepressant treatment. The primary outcome was change in the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17). Patients and raters were blind to baseline hs-CRP status. In an intention-to-treat analysis including all subjects with at least one post baseline visit (n = 101), ahs-CRPcut-off of ≥1 mg/L, but not ≥3 mg/L, was associated with a greater improvement in HAMD-17 total score. In addition to a general antidepressant effect among patients with hs-CRP ≥ 1 mg/L, adjuvant EPA treatment improved symptoms putatively related to inflamed depression such as fatigue and sleep difficulties. This adds to the mounting evidence that delineation of MDD subgroups based on inflammation may be clinically relevant to predict treatment response to anti-inflammatory interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klara Suneson
- Unit for Biological and Precision Psychiatry, Department of Clinical Sciences Lund, Lund University; Department of Adult Psychiatry, Office for Psychiatry, Habilitation and Technical Aids, Malmö, Sweden
| | - Gustav Söderberg Veibäck
- Unit for Biological and Precision Psychiatry, Department of Clinical Sciences Lund, Lund University; Department of Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Department of Clinical Sciences, Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden
| | - Jesper Lindahl
- Unit for Biological and Precision Psychiatry, Department of Clinical Sciences Lund, Lund University; Department of Adult Psychiatry, Office for Psychiatry, Habilitation and Technical Aids, Lund, Sweden
| | - Johanna Tjernberg
- Unit for Biological and Precision Psychiatry, Department of Clinical Sciences Lund, Lund University; Psychiatry Research Skåne, Office for Psychiatry, Habilitation and Technical Aids, Lund, Sweden
| | - Darya Ståhl
- Unit for Biological and Precision Psychiatry, Department of Clinical Sciences Lund, Lund University
| | - Simon Ventorp
- Unit for Biological and Precision Psychiatry, Department of Clinical Sciences Lund, Lund University
| | - Filip Ängeby
- Unit for Biological and Precision Psychiatry, Department of Clinical Sciences Lund, Lund University; Department of Adult Psychiatry, Office for Psychiatry, Habilitation and Technical Aids, Lund, Sweden
| | - Karl Lundblad
- Department of Adult Psychiatry, Office for Psychiatry, Habilitation and Technical Aids, Lund, Sweden; Office for Psychiatry, Norra Stockholm Psykiatri, Region Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Owen M Wolkowitz
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Daniel Lindqvist
- Unit for Biological and Precision Psychiatry, Department of Clinical Sciences Lund, Lund University; Psychiatry Research Skåne, Office for Psychiatry, Habilitation and Technical Aids, Lund, Sweden.
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