MRI and neuropsychological improvement in Huntington disease following ethyl-EPA treatment

Abstract

A 6-month randomized, placebo-controlled pilot study of the ethyl-ester of eicosapentaenoic acid (ethyl-EPA) was carried out in seven in-patients with advanced (stage III) Huntington's disease (three on ethyl-EPA, four on placebo; no significant difference in age or sex between the groups). After 6 months all the patients treated with ethyl-EPA improved on the orofacial component of the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale while all the patients on placebo deteriorated on this scale (p < 0.03). Following subvoxel registration of follow-up 3D MRI brain scans with baseline scans, subtraction images showed that while the placebo was associated with progressive cerebral atrophy, the ethyl-EPA was associated with a reverse process. We conclude that treatment with ethyl-EPA is associated with beneficial motor and MRI changes.