In the Jan./Feb. 2001 "Medical Mailbox," we published a letter from a reader in Minnesota who was seeking to control her roller-coaster emotions. She and other readers with mood problems will be interested in the following:

A preliminary study conducted by psychiatrist Dr. Andrew Stoll at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston suggests that omega-3 fatty acids improve and help stabilize mood in people who suffer from mania and recurrent bouts of depression.

In the four-month study, 15 bipolar patients were given ten grams of fish oil in addition to usual treatment. A control group was given an olive oil placebo. The experimental treatment was well-tolerated and improved the short-term course of the potentially devastating illness.

Dr. Stoll advises his patients on omega-3 therapies to take vitamins C and E. He explains that these antioxidant vitamins preserve the beneficial fatty acids by protecting them from oxidation.