A Dose-Ranging Study of the Effects of Ethyl-Eicosapentaenoate in Patients With Ongoing Depression Despite Apparently Adequate Treatment With Standard Drugs

Abstract

DEPRESSION REMAINS an illness in which existing treatments have limited efficacy. The most widely prescribed drug, fluoxetine hydrochloride, produces a 50% improvement in symptoms in only 38% of those who start treatment and in only 56% of those who complete a full course.¹ Other drugs are similar in their effects.² Tricyclic antidepressants and selective serotonin (SSRIs) and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors are similar in their efficacy.^2,3 The SSRIs are marginally better tolerated, but the differences are small. On average, for every 100 patients who start treatment, 30 patients receiving a tricyclic compound during a 6-week trial will stop treatment compared with 27 receiving an SSRI.^3,4 Discontinuation rates in ordinary clinical practice are probably higher. Therefore, novel approaches to the management of depression are needed.