Serum fatty acids in multiple sclerosis

Relationship between plasma and lymphocyte linoleate in multiple sclerosis.

“…Previous work from this laboratory has shown that in patients with multiple sclerosis there is a lowering of the linoleate levels in platelets and erythrocytes (Gul et al, 1970) in addition to a lowering of the linoleate level in the plasma lipids (Belin et al, 1971), the latter result confirming earlier work (Baker et al, 1964;Tichy et al, 1969) and according with more recent reports (Love et al, 1974;Kalofoutis and Jullien, 1974;Crawford and Hassam, 1975;Paty et al, 1975), although some authors have failed to find lower linoleate in multiple sclerosis patients (Cumings et al, 1965;Karlsson et al, 1971;Wolfgram et al, 1975). We have now extended the studies on linoleate levels to lymphocytes and to the free (non-esterified) fatty acids of the plasma.…”

Liver X receptor (LXR) mediates negative regulation of mouse and human Th17 differentiation

“…Cholesterol may provide a metabolic negative signal to restrain T cell differentiation into the Th17 subset and thus impact the development of autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). More than 50 years ago, two clinical studies (45,46) suggested that MS patients had lower cholesterol levels than healthy people. Our study may provide an explanation for this observation given that a lower cholesterol level favors Th17 polarization and hence the subsequent development of Th17 inflammatory cell-dominant autoimmune diseases such as MS.…”

Nutritional factors and aging in demyelinating diseases

“…However, Agranoff and Goldberg (1974) implicate foods rich in both omega-6 and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in negative correlations with MS-omega-3 PUFAs are derived from fish oils, whereas omega-6 PUFAs are obtained from plants such as sunflower, corn, wheat germ, and soybean oils. In particular, it was observed that linoleic (18:2n-6) and arachidonic acids (20:4n-6) are decreased in plasma, platelets, erythrocytes, leukocytes, and cerebrospinal fluid in patients with MS (Baker et al 1964;Sanders et al 1968;Gul et al 1970;Neu 1983). The use of linoleic acid alone or oil containing linoleic acid and c-linolenic acid (ratio 7:1) in the treatment for EAE-an induced animal model of CD4 T cellmediated demyelination characterized by inflammationproduced a partial suppression of the incidence and severity of the pathology (Meade et al 1978).…”