Someone posted recently that some individuals don't have beneficial effects
(or have negative effects?) from fish oil.   I asked for a source of info
but didn't receive an answer, so I'm trying to ferret out some info on my
own.

I ran across the following article (which may be of interest to some) which
mentions that the hypomania of bi-polar disorder is less controlled with
flaxseed oil than with fish oil.

Theola

http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/issues/v57n7/ffull/ylt0700-3.html

"Regarding the issue of mood elevation with 3 fatty acids, our group has
collectively treated more than 300 patients with various open-label 3 fatty
acid preparations, ranging from high docosahexanoic acid (DHA)-low
eicosapentanoic acid (EPA) fish oil and high EPA-low DHA fish oil, to
flaxseed oil, containing the shorter-chain 3 fatty acid, -linolenic acid
(ALA). Altogether, we have seen fewer than 10 cases of apparent 3-induced
hypomania or mania, almost all from flaxseed oil preparations.

The possibility of 3-induced mood elevation is consistent with the published
literature. For example, a careful look at the studies1, 2 cited by Kinrys
reveals that dietary ALA and red blood cell (RBC) membrane ALA was the
single strong predictor (negative correlation) of depressive severity among
all measured fatty acids in RBC membranes and diet in the group of patients
with unipolar major depression,2 whereas estimated dietary EPA or DHA intake
did not correlate with the severity of the depressive syndrome.1, 2
Interestingly, RBC membrane ALA, in contrast to RBC membrane EPA or DHA, was
not lower in the patient group than in the controls,2 suggesting the
possibility of antidepressive properties of ALA on its own. This hypothesis
is in accordance with the results of an open-label case series published
almost 20 years ago,3 using very high-dose flaxseed oil (up to 50 g per day
of ALA) in psychiatric patients with various diagnoses, including bipolar
disorder. In this series, mania was a frequent complication.

It is generally believed that the human organism is able to produce EPA and
DHA by elongation and desaturation, granted that ALA is provided. However,
this might not be true.4 Giving ALA supplements to humans leads to some
increase of EPA, but virtually no increase or even a decrease in tissue
DHA.5, 6 Consequently, ALA might lack some of the properties (such as mood
stabilizing or antimanic effects) of EPA and/or DHA.

In our placebo-controlled study,7 we did observe an apparent greater mean
antidepressant response than antimanic response in those subjects receiving
fish oil. This was caused, at least in part, by the high rate of persistent
depressive symptoms in the placebo group. Some patients clearly experienced
less manic symptoms and enhanced mood stabilization when receiving EPA and
DHA. In addition to the statistically higher chance of suffering a
depressive rather than a manic recurrence in bipolar disorder, the role of
olive oil as a placebo should be addressed. It is not clear whether
supplementing humans with olive oil (mostly oleic acid, an 9 fatty acid) has
any psychotropic effects. In addition, given the high amount of oleic acid
in our daily food, it is unlikely that supplementation with less than 10 g/d
should make any difference in this respect. However, a recent study reported
highly significantly elevated levels of oleic acid, the main component of
olive oil, in RBCs of drug-free patients with a major depressive episode8: a
finding that needs to be further explored."