• DOI:10.1176/APPI.AJP.160.1.167
• Corpus ID: 3169041

omega-3 Fatty acid treatment of women with borderline personality disorder: a double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study.

@article{Zanarini2003omega3FA,
  title={omega-3 Fatty acid treatment of women with borderline personality disorder: a double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study.},
  author={Mary C. Zanarini and Frances R. Frankenburg},
  journal={The American journal of psychiatry},
  year={2003},
  volume={160 1},
  pages={
          167-9
        }
}

• M. Zanarini, F. Frankenburg
• Published 2003
• Psychology
• The American journal of psychiatry

OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of ethyl-eicosapentaenoic acid (E-EPA) and placebo in the treatment of female subjects with borderline personality disorder.

METHOD
The authors conducted an 8-week, placebo-controlled, double-blind study of E-EPA in 30 female subjects meeting Revised Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines and DSM-IV criteria for borderline personality disorder.

RESULTS
Twenty subjects were randomly assigned to 1 g of E-EPA; 10 subjects were given placebo. Ninety percent of those in both groups completed all 8 weeks of the trial. Analyses that used random-effects regression modeling and controlled for baseline severity showed E-EPA to be superior to placebo in diminishing aggression as well as the severity of depressive symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS
The results of this study suggest that E-EPA may be a safe and effective form of monotherapy for women with moderately severe borderline personality disorder.