ROLE OF ECOSAPENTAECONIC ACID (EPA) AND DECOSAHEXAENOIC ACID (DHA) AS ADD-ON TREATMENT OF MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER (MDD)

Abstract

Depression or Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a pervasive, recurrent mental disorder. Worldwide, roughly 350 million people of all ages are affected by depression. Depression is a main global burden as a fourth leading cause of disability among the list of ten by the world health organization in 2012 survey Male, female depression affect ratio is 1:2, worst of which lead to suicide. The human brain comprises of roughly 60% of fat. Grey matter contain 50% of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) among which 30% belong to omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) family, and accordingly are taken through diet. Over the last two decades mounting attention has been given to the role of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) regarding the etiology and treatment of psychiatric disorders. This review aims to explore the scientific evidence to support the hypothesis on the role of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in the treatment of depression. For this purpose PubMed and science direct, databases were used to search the non-duplicate studies published from September 2012 to September 2016. Clinical trials, observational studies, and randomized double and single blind placebo controlled trials (RCTs) were searched by staying within the realm of original studies, role of omega-3 in depression in human, and role of omega 3 purely on depression. Articles were rejected on first sight which were inadequate to inclusion consideration, non-human studies, role of omega 3 in bipolar depression, pilot studies, role of omega 3 in co-morbid depression and role of omega 3 along with omega 6 in depression. This review is different from others as it focuses on role of Ecosapentaeconic Acid (EPA) and Decosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) exclusively in depression