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Recent trends in mental illness and omega-3 fatty acids

  • Psychiatry and Preclinical Psychiatric Studies - Review Article
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Abstract

Although it is clear that nutrition affects physical and metabolic functions in humans, the importance of nutrition in mental illness has often been overlooked. Following a report by Hibbeln (Lancet 351:1213, 1998) published in The Lancet, which suggested that depression rates and fish consumption were inversely correlated, the relationships between a variety of nutritional/epidemiological treatments and neuropsychiatric disorders have received increased attention. In particular, many studies have been conducted on the omega-3 fatty acid mechanism of action in pathophysiological aspects of various neuropsychiatric disorders. Furthermore, many clinical studies have also been conducted on the effects of omega-3 replacement therapy. Therefore, this article reports recent trends in, and perspectives on, the use of omega-3 fatty acids to treat the five psychiatric disorders: schizophrenia (a delusion of the psychotic zone), depression and other mood disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (a developmental disorder), post-traumatic stress disorder (psychological trauma after the disaster), and Alzheimer-type dementia.

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  1. Department of Neuropsychiatry, Unit of Translation Medicine, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 1-7-1 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852-8501, Japan

    Ken Yonezawa, Yuko Kusumoto, Nobukazu Kanchi, Hirohisa Kinoshita, Shinji Kanegae, Naohiro Yamaguchi & Hiroki Ozawa

  2. Yuzuriha Hospital Pharmacy, Nagasaki, Japan

    Ken Yonezawa

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  1. Ken Yonezawa
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  2. Yuko Kusumoto
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  3. Nobukazu Kanchi
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  4. Hirohisa Kinoshita
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Correspondence to Ken Yonezawa.

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Yonezawa, K., Kusumoto, Y., Kanchi, N. et al. Recent trends in mental illness and omega-3 fatty acids. J Neural Transm 127, 1491–1499 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-020-02212-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-020-02212-z

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