This will be a 12 week, double blind study of omega-3 fatty acids vs. placebo adjunctive to open-label aripiprazole treatment in children and adolescents (ages 6-17) who meet DSM-IV criteria for bipolar disorder (BPD) (currently manic or mixed). Specific hypotheses are as follows: Hypothesis 1: Omega-3 fatty acids will be well-tolerated and efficacious in the treatment of children and adolescents with BPD Hypothesis 2: The total dose of aripiprazole will be lower in those subjects receiving active omega-3 treatment
Initial clinical evidence suggests that the omega-3 fatty acids EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and/or DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) may play a therapeutic role in the management of mood disorders. EPA is an essential fatty acid, which can be metabolized to DHA and is a component of the human diet if fish is consumed. Aripiprazole is a novel second general antipsychotic that seems to function as a partial agonist at the dopamine D2 and serotonin 5-HT 1A receptors as well as an antagonist at the serotonin 5-HT 2A receptor. Since it has a favorable adverse event profile in adults, it is an attractive choice for the treatment of youth with bipolar disorder if proven efficacious. Although pilot research showed that omega-3 fatty acids monotherapy treatment resulted in improvement of manic symptoms, the improvement is less dramatic than that observed in trials of antipsychotics. We will test the safety and efficacy of omega-3 fatty acids versus placebo as an adjunctive treatment to open-label aripiprazole in children and adolescents with bipolar disorder. The proposed study includes 1) the use of a 12-week design to document the response rate 2) careful assessment of safety and tolerability
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
TRIPLE
Enrollment
20
tablet, start at 2mg and increase/decrease each week, taken daily for 12 weeks
1600mg (4 capsules) daily for 12 weeks
Placebo
Massachusetts General Hospital
Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
Change in Bipolar Symptoms as Assessed by Young-Mania Rating Scale (YMRS)
The YMRS is used to evaluate symptoms of mania in children and adolescents. Items are rated from 0-4 or 0-8, with higher scores indicating greater severity. The minimum total score (least severe) is 0, and the maximum total score (most severe) is 60.
Time frame: weekly for 1st 6 weeks then biweekly
DSM-IV Mania Symptom Checklist
The DSM-IV Mania Symptom Checklist is used to evaluate symptoms of mania. Item scores range from 0-3, with larger scores indicating greater severity. With 33 items, the maximum (most severe) score possible is 99, with the minimum (least severe) score possible being 0.
Time frame: weekly for first 6 weeks then biweekly
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