A Theory of Everything

A shortage of omega-3 fatty acids explains schizophrenia and the development of our species, according to David Horrobin.

By Kaja Perina, published on August 01, 2002

It is no small task to explain an enigmatic mental illness, toolmaking and creative genius in one fell swoop. But a British psychiatrist-turned-biotech-entrepreneur claims that when it comes to schizophrenia, ontogeny (the development of the individual) recapitulates phylogeny (the development of the species) because both hinge on a shortage of omega-3 fatty acids.

David Horrobin, M.D., has long argued that schizophrenia does not result from an excess of dopamine, the neurotransmitter targeted by most antipsychotic drugs. Instead, Horrobin implicates connective structures known as synapses, which convey neurotransmitters and are sheathed in fatty acids. In The Madness of Adam and Eve: How Schizophrenia Shaped Humanity(Bantam), a book to be published in the United States this summer, Horrobin recalls how he hit on this theory. He found that a shortage of the inflammation-fighting arachidonic acid (AA) explains symptoms of schizophrenia such as an increased threshold for pain and arthritis (less AA equals less pain and swelling) and a respite from psychosis during high fever because schizophrenics' AA production rises under extreme duress. Horrobin claims great success with the omega-3 eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)-so great that he is now chairman of Laxdale Limited, a Scottish biotechnology company that develops psychotropic drugs, including EPA. One study published in the International Journal of Clinical Practicefound a decline in schizophrenics' symptoms after a six-month course of EPA supplements. Shorter EPA trials yield less definitive results.

Horrobin's theory becomes increasingly tenuous when he tries to encompass all of civilization. He maintains that schizophrenogenic mutations in fat metabolism occurred between 60,000 and 150,000 years ago and allowed humans to acquire language and exhibit creativity. Hunter-gatherers had a diet rich enough in fatty acids to keep the pathological symptoms of schizophrenia at bay. Horrobin argues that schizophrenia became increasingly debilitating with the advent of the agricultural revolution and exploded during industrialization, due to our modern diet heavy in saturated fats. The World Health Organization confirms a rise in schizophrenia in the last 150 years, and researchers have found a genetic deficiency in schizophrenics' modification of fatty acids. Horrobin hopes the complete mapping of the human genome will validate his elaborate theory.