ABSTRACT Double blind, randomised trial shows that pure ethyl-EPA (PlusEPA, Minami Nutrition) is as effective as fluoxetine in the treatment of depression, and when used in combination show even better outcomes. A new study, published in the March 2008 editon of the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, shows that the omega-3 fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) has a therapeutic effect when used by patients with clinically diagnosed depression. Over an eight-week period, 60 outpatients with a diagnosis of major depressive disorder were randomly allocated to receive a daily dose of either 1000mg ethyl-EPA or 20mg fluoxetine, or their combination, and were assessed every two weeks. Using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS), these patients originally showed a score of at least 15 points on the 17-item HDRS. Forty-eight participants were eligible for response analyses (16 in each study group). The study showed that fluoxetine and pure ethyl-EPA appeared to be equally effective in controlling depressive symptoms, based on a 50% or more decrease in HDRS scores, while the ethyl-EPA+fluoxetine combination showed even significantly better results. Jazayeri, Shima; Tehrani-Doost, Mehdi; Keshavarz, Seyed A.; Hosseini, Mostafa; Djazayery, Abolghassem; Amini, Homayoun; Jalali, Mahmoud and Peet, Malcolm (2008). Comparison of therapeutic effects of omega-3 fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid and fluoxetine, separately and in combination, in major depressive disorder, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 42:3, 192 – 198. 01.03.2008