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Researchers have found that 70% to 80% of patients with prodromal schizophrenia did not develop full-blown psychosis within 1 year. Therefore, prophylactic treatment with drugs, such as antipsychotics, that frequently have serious adverse effects, would be problematic. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), a safer intervention, have been inconsistently effective for full-blown schizophrenia (JW Psychiatry Oct 24 2002 and May 7 2003) and have not been previously tested for preventing prodromal progression.
These researchers randomized 81 participants (age range, 13–25), who fit clearly defined schizophrenia prodrome criteria, to PUFAs (eicosapentaenoic acid, 700 mg; docosahexaenoic acid, 480 mg; other PUFAs, 220 mg; vitamin E, 7.6 mg) …