Omega-3 Fatty Acid Blood Levels Clinical Significance Update

Abstract

The potential benefit of fish oil (omega-3 fatty acids) consumption to reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk remains controversial. Some investigations report reduced CVD risk associated with fish or fish oil consumption while others report no benefit. This controversy is in part resolved when consideration is given to omega-3 blood levels in relation to CVD risk as well as blood levels achieved in clinical trials of omega-3 supplementation and CVD benefit. There is a wide variation in omega-3 blood levels achieved between individuals in response to a given dose of an omega-3 supplement. Many studies tested a daily dose of 1 gram omega-3 supplementation. The individual variation in blood omega-3 levels achieved in response to a fixed daily dose helps to explain why some individuals may obtain CVD protection benefit while others do not due to failure to achieve a therapeutic threshold. Recent development of a population range in a United States population helps to provide clinical guidance since population omega-3 blood level ranges may vary due to environmental and genetic reasons. Omega-3 supplementation may also be of benefit in reducing the adverse impact of air pollution on CVD risk.

Add-on Antiplatelet Effects of Eicosapentaenoic Acid With Tailored Dose Setting in Patients on Dual Antiplatelet Therapy

“…In the Japan EPA lipid intervention study, 13) the use of EPA-E increased the EPA/AA ratio from 0.6 to 1.3, and significantly reduced the recurrence of cardiovascular events. As for the appropriate value of the ontreatment EPA/AA ratio, Superko, et al suggested a value of > 0.75 in their review; 14) however, there was a large difference between the results from studies in other western countries and Japan. The on-treatment EPA/AA ratio of Japanese studies The on-treatment EPA/AA ratio reached the target value of 0.92 in all but one patient.…”

Could the thromboxane A2 pathway be a therapeutic target for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea-induced atherosclerosis?

“…The health benefits of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) on cardiovascular diseases have been reported by numerous studies (see reviews [77,78]), even if results still remain controversial [77]. n-3 PUFAs are a family of biologically active fatty acids.…”

New avenues to prevent sudden unexpected death in nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy: follow the route established by omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids

“…Following this line of thought and given traditional treatment methods, an important issue which may be incorporated into the difficult task of preventing cardiovascular abnormalities that may culminate in sudden cardiac death in OSA individuals with epilepsy, is the use of omega-3 fatty acid (omega-3 FA) supplementation or regular fish consumption [28,29]. It is quite likely that one of the early reports of fish consumption as a medical therapy was described in the Old Testament book of Tobias, "Then the angel said to him: Take out the entrails of the fish, and lay up his heart, and his gall, and his liver for thee; for these are necessary for useful medicines" [30,31]. Nowadays it is well established that the human body is not able to synthesize omega-3 FAs; therefore, people should get it from a diet rich in specific types of fish to provide positive impact on the health system [32][33][34][35].…”