Media Release

October 23 2009

Fish oil for treatment of depression in heart disease

Dr Narelle Berry conducts an ultrasound test A new Adelaide study will investigate whether taking fish oil capsules can reduce the symptoms of depression in people with heart disease.

As scientists around the world continue to discover more health benefits of fish oil, this latest study hopes to provide a simple, natural remedy for the depression commonly experienced by heart disease patients.

UniSA’s Nutritional Physiology Research Centre is working with the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and the University of Adelaide on the collaborative project, which has been funded by the National Heart Foundation and beyondblue.

UniSA researcher Dr Narelle Berry said there was an increasing recognition among health professionals of a strong association between heart disease and depression.

“We know that substantial numbers of people with heart disease also become depressed. We also know that having both depression and heart disease can make it harder to recover from both these conditions,” Dr Berry said.

“We are trying to evaluate a safe and simple method to help improve both depression and heart health in those with heart disease.”

Dr Berry said the study would focus on cardiovascular disease and how its impact on blood vessel function might affect the brain.

“When blood vessels are not working properly, you’re not getting adequate blood flow to the brain, so you’re not getting optimal delivery of nutrients to the brain which can adversely affect mood,” she said.

“So we’re using fish oil because it’s known to improve blood vessel function, and this might include blood vessel function in the brain.”

Dr Berry is looking for volunteers to participate in the study, but volunteers must have had a cardiovascular event (a heart attack) or been diagnosed with heart failure or coronary artery disease, and have also been feeling a bit down, which would be expected.

Half of the study participants will receive fish oil capsules, while the other half will receive a placebo capsule of safflower oil. During the trial period of six months, participants will require two visits to both UniSA’s City East Campus and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital for surveys and ultrasounds.

“Fish oil has been shown to improve blood vessel function in the peripheral circulation quite convincingly, but this study is the first one that’s actually looked directly into the brain, so we’ll be looking at whether improvements in blood vessel health in the brain improve symptoms of depression,” Dr Berry said.

People interesting in volunteering for the study or who would like an information sheet can contact research nurse Lisa Burres at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital on 8222 6305 or Dr Berry on 8302 1817.