A Trial of Evening Primrose Oil in the Treatment of Chronic Schizophrenia

Evening Primrose Oil with supplements was administered to thirteen chronic schizophrenics on a double blind cross-over basis. No significant therapeutic effect was found but there is a possibility that the EPO strategy potentiates the epileptogenic properties of the phenothiazines. D. Horrobin's proposal that there may be a deficiency of prostaglandin El (PGEl) in schizophrenia (Horrobin, 1977; Horrobin, Ally et al., 1978) has, to some extent, found confirmation in the finding that PGEl stimulated H-adnosine 3'5'-cyclic monophosphate (H-cAMP) accumulation in platelets from schizophrenics was significantly reduced compared with control subjects (Rotrusen et al., 1980). The biosynthetic pathway involved in the formation of PGEl requires vitamins B3, B6 and C together with zinc in addition to a source of linoleic acid (LA) and gamma-linolenic acid (GLA). Evening Primrose Oil is a rich source of fatty acids containing 72 percent LA and 9 percent GLA. The only other substantial source of GLA is human milk. An appropriate strategy for treating schizophrenia might therefore involve giving EPO together with supplements. Vaddadi (1981a) has explored this possibility and found that EPO produced noticeable improvement in some patients, the effect being especially marked in those within five years of their first diagnosis. We have aimed to further explore the role of EPO and supplements in schizophrenia. Method The study population consisted of chronic inpatients or day patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia based on Feighner criteria. This population had been stabilized on medication but such was the severity of the illness that total independent functioning was not possible despite long term drug and social treatments. None of the patients suffered from significant physical illness nor showed clinical evidence of malnutrition or vitamin deficiency. Twenty-three patients, who gave their informed consent, entered the trial which was a double blind cross-over design using each patient as his/her control. Three patients developed grand mal seizures and a further three were eliminated because of a 1. Hobson Park Hospital, P.O. Box 408, Traralgon. 3844 Victoria Australia . Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Sudbury-Algoma Hospital, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.