Omega-3 Research
Joint Health | Brighter
Mood | Heart Health | Kids
| Prenatal | Miscellaneous
Clin Nutr. 2008 Jan 29 [Epub ahead of print]
Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid in peripheral arterial disease: Effect on lipid pattern, disease severity, inflammation profile, and endothelial function.
Schiano V, Laurenzano E, Brevetti G, De Maio JI, Lanero S, Scopacasa F, Chiariello M.
Department of Clinical Medicine and Cardiovascular and Immunological Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy.
BACKGROUND & AIMS: Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is strongly associated with endothelial dysfunction and inflammation, which portend a high cardiovascular risk. Accordingly, we investigated the effects of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (n-3 PUFA) supplementation on endothelial function and inflammatory status in affected individuals. METHODS: PAD patients were randomly divided into two groups. In Group I (n=16) pre-enrollment therapy was not modified, while in Group II (n=16) n-3 PUFAs 1g b.i.d. for 3 months were added to the previous treatment. Endothelial function was assessed by measuring plasma soluble thrombomodulin (sTM) and brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD), and the inflammatory status by measuring high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and myeloperoxidase. RESULTS: In Group II, n-3 PUFAs reduced sTM levels from the median value of 33.0ng/mL (interquartile range 16.7, 37.2) to 17.0ng/mL (11.2, 33.7) (p=0.04), and improved FMD from 6.7% (3.7, 8.7) to 10.0% (6.2, 14.2) (p=0.02). Conversely, these markers did not change in Group I. After 3 months, the levels of inflammatory markers remained unmodified in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: In PAD, n-3 PUFAs induced a marked improvement in endothelial function. Conversely, they did not affect the inflammatory status. In future, large, prospective studies are needed to investigate whether n-3 PUFAs, by improving endothelial function, would reduce the incidence of ischemic events in a population at high risk.
