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Last Updated: May 5, 2009 - 12:58:27 PM |
THURSDAY March 13, 2008 (Foodconsumer.org) -- N-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids or PUFAs from oily fish protect against death from cardiovascular disease, according to a new study published in the Feb 8, 2003 issue of The Lancet.
It's has been observed earlier that taking omega-3 fatty acids is associated with reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease. But the new study provides an explanation for the risk reduction.
Researchers suggested the risk of cardiovascular disease death is reduced because omega-3 fatty acids are incorporated into plagues, enhancing their stability and reducing the risk of cardiovascular events.
In the study, the researchers conducted a trial of patients awaiting carotid endarterectomy. 188 patients were enrolled and randomized, 18 were withdrawn and eight were excluded.
Patients were given either fish oil (containing EPA and DHA, two most common n-3) or sunflower oil (containing n-6 fatty acids) or nothing for an average 42 days ranging from 7 to 189 days.
Plague morphology indicative of plague stability was assessed at the end of the trial. And fatty acids in the plagues were tested.
Higher levels of EPA and DHA were found in carotid plague fractions in patients receiving fish oil compared to the group receiving control or sunflower oil. Sunflower oil did not have an impact on the composition of the plagues.
The researchers observed that fewer plagues from patients treated with fish oil had thin fibrous caps and signs of inflammation and more plagues had thick fibrous caps and no signs of inflammation compared to plagues from patients in control and sunflower oil groups.
Also the number of macrophages in plagues from patients treated with fish oil was lower than in the other two groups while carotid plague morphology and infiltration by macrophages did not differ between control and sunflower oil groups.
The observed fact that atherosclerotic plagues readily absorbed n-3 PUFAs from fish oil, enhancing stability of the plagues while n-6 PUFAs do not affect carotid plague fatty acid composition or stability suggests that increased n-3 PUFA intake reduced the risk of non-fatal and fatal cardiovascular events, according to the researchers.
Originally published at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12583947
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