Fish Oil Helps in Schizophrenia Treatment?

The following study looks interesting, but the sample size of only 14
people means it needs further study before any conclusions can be drawn.
EPA and DHA in supplements are found in fish oils such as salmon and halibut.
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   CHICAGO, Aug. 17  -- British researchers say fish oil supplements
can reduce symptoms of schizophrenia by about 25 percent.
   At the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association in
Chicago, doctors say a new study indicates less than a half ounce a day --
10 grams -- of one type of commonly available fish oil relieves symptom in
both a statistically and a clinically significant manner.
   Dr. Malcolm Peet of the University Department of Psychiatry, Sheffield,
England, says that fish oils -- specifically those containing
eicosapentaenoic ("IGH'-coh-zuh-PEHN'-tuh-noh-ihck") acid or EPA -- help
the body overcome problems caused by overproduction of other chemicals.
These substances are linked to schizophrenia and other mental disorders.
   Peet says the small study, involving 14 patients, is now being repeated
on a larger scale in India to determine if the results he achieved can be
replicated.
   He says his results tend to confirm a case report in Britain in which a
schizophrenic patient refused standard medications in favor of EPA and his
condition improved.
   Peet says EPA, a polyunsaturated fatty acid, has previously been shown
to have positive cardiovascular effects.
   Marc Hillbrand of Connecticut Valley Hospital, Middletown, and Yale
University, New Haven, says there is growing evidence that disorders in
blood fats -- including higher or lower levels of fatty acids such as EPA
-- are linked to personality disorders, and could explain why anti-
psychotic drugs fail to defeat all aspects of schizophrenia and other
mental disorders.