Omega-3/Omega-6 Fatty Acids for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): A Trial in Children and Adolescents

The study design is a randomised, double-blind placebo-controlled trial with a total duration of 6 months. 50-100 children and adolescents, aged 8-18 years, who meet the DSM-IVÔ criteria for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) of any subtype will be given the opportunity to participate. The study comprises 2 study periods.

Study Period I

This is an assessment/evaluation and drug washout phase of up to 1-3 months for those patients taking any medication excluded by the protocol.

Study Period II

Participants will be randomised to 3 months of treatment with a fixed dose of 6 capsules per day of EyeQ, divided in two daily doses, to supply 558 mg EPA, 174 mg DHA and 60 mg GLA daily, or to placebo. Identical capsules containing olive oil will be used as placebo. Randomisation will be organized by Equazen UK Ltd, who will prepare randomisation numbers to be sent out to the investigation centre. At 3 months a one-way treatment crossover of the placebo-group to active treatment will be made so that both patient groups will receive EyeQ for the remaining 3-month period. Compliance will be ascertained through bi-weekly telephone contacts and at each visit. Compliance is defined as taking the prescribed dosage >70% of the days in a visit interval.

Neuropsychiatric assessment:

DSM IV checklist ADHD-Rating Scale IV - Parent:Inv Clinical Global Impression (CGI) scale GAF-scale

FTF teacher questionnaire SNAP-IV teacher questionnaire Brown's ADD teacher scale

Neuropsychological assessment:

WISC-III® or WAIS-III® VMI Digit span Span-board task Qb-test

Brown's ADD self report CDI (Children's Depression Inventory)

Five to Fifteen (FTF) parent questionnaire Brown's ADD parent scale SNAP-IV parent questionnaire Nijmegen questionnaire HUFA deficiency questionnaire

Reading and writing tests:

DLS etc

Inclusion criteria

• Patients aged 8-18 years
• Met DSM-IV criteria for a diagnosis of ADHD of any subtype

Exclusion criteria

• Autism
• Psychosis
• Bipolar disorder
• Mental retardation
• Uncontrolled seizure disorder
• Hyper- or hypothyroidism
• Significant other medical conditions
• Weight below 20 kg
• Alcohol or drug abuse or the use in the past three months of any psychoactive drugs or Omega 3 preparations