Omega-3 Fatty Acids for the Treatment of Bipolar Disorder Symptoms: A Narrative Review of the Current Clinical Evidence
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Bipolar disorder is a chronic mental disease that is characterized by depressive and manic episodes. Antipsychotics and mood stabilizers are known therapies that work, but their restrictions and disadvantages resulted in the need for complementary and alternative therapies, such as natural compounds. Omega-3 fatty acids, as basic ingredients of fishes and seafood, play crucial roles in brain development, function of brain membrane enzymes, learning, and many other instances, and their deficiency has been associated with many mental diseases, including bipolar disorder. METHODS: The present narrative review aims to critically summarize and scrutinize the available clinical studies on the use of omega-3 fatty acids in the management and co-treatment of bipolar disorder episodes and symptoms. For this purpose, a thorough and in-depth search was performed in the most accurate scientific databases, e.g., PubMed., Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane, Embase, and Google Scholar, applying effective and relevant keywords. RESULTS: There are currently several clinical studies that assessed the effect of omega-3 fatty acids on the severity of BD symptoms. Some of them supported evidence for the potential beneficial impact of omega-3 fatty acids supplementation in the prevention and/or co-treatment of bipolar disorder severity and symptomatology. Nevertheless, a considerable number of clinical studies did not show high efficiency, rendering the existing data rather conflicting.…
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