07/03/2007 - Mental health problems cost £10bn 
Mental health problems are costing Britain £10 billion a year as more than 10 million working days are lost through stress and depression, according to a study published yesterday. The record bill includes a combination of the cost of NHS treatment, absenteeism and benefits claims, of which £6 billion is met by taxpayers. The research by Oxford Economic, commissioned by Unum Provident, indicated that 40 per cent of people claiming incapacity benefits were suffering from mental and behavioural disorders.

10/04/2007 - The world's leaing largest fish oil study JELIS, made using E-EPA (1800mg per day) has now been published in the Lancet.
ubject: Re: JELIS in Lancet

Mitsuhiro Yokoyama , et al. Effects of eicosapentaenoic acid on major coronary events in hypercholesterolaemic patients (JELIS): a randomised open-label, blinded endpoint analysis. The Lancet 2007; 369:1090-1098

Summary Background
Epidemiological and clinical evidence suggests that an increased intake of long-chain n-3 fatty acids protects against mortality from coronary artery disease. The Japanese investigators aimed to test the hypothesis that long-term use of ethyl ester of eicosapentaenoic acid (E-EPA, 97,5%, nil DHA) is effective for prevention of major coronary events in hypercholesterolaemic patients in Japan who consume a large amount of fish.

Methods
18 645 patients with a total cholesterol of 6·5 mmol/L or greater were recruited from local physicians throughout Japan between 1996 and 1999. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either 1800 mg of EPA daily with statin (EPA group; n=9326) or statin only (controls; n=9319) with a 5-year follow-up. The primary endpoint was any major coronary event, including sudden cardiac death, fatal and non-fatal myocardial infarction, and other non-fatal events including unstable angina pectoris, angioplasty, stenting, or coronary artery bypass grafting.
Analysis was by intention-to-treat. The study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00231738.

Findings
At mean follow-up of 4·6 years, we detected the primary endpoint in 262
(2·8%) patients in the EPA group and 324 (3·5%) in controls—a 19% relative reduction in major coronary events (p=0·011). Post-treatment LDL cholesterol concentrations decreased 25%, from 4·7 mmol/L in both groups. Serum LDL cholesterol was not a significant factor in a reduction of risk for major coronary events. Unstable angina and non-fatal coronary events were also significantly reduced in the EPA group. Sudden cardiac death and coronary death did not differ between groups. In patients with a history of coronary artery disease who were given EPA treatment, major coronary events were reduced by 19% (secondary prevention subgroup: 158 [8·7%] in the EPA group vs 197 [10·7%] in the control group; p=0·048). In patients with no history of coronary artery disease, EPA treatment reduced major coronary events by 18%, but this finding was not significant (104 [1·4%] in the EPA group vs 127 [1·7%] in the control group; p=0·132).

Interpretation
E-EPA is a promising treatment for prevention of major coronary events, and especially non-fatal coronary events, in Japanese hypercholesterolaemic patients.

Here are some links to reports published shortly after Prof Yokoyama had presented the results in the Meeting of the American Heart Association
(AHA) in Dallas November 2005

http://integration.theheart.org/article/600167.do
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/518574
http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=15235031
http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=15235031