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Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2005 4:10 pm
by LisaBee
NHE,

Interesting stuff for Alzheimer's! I need to read more on that.

Do you know of any ongoing research on DHA and MS? I searched PubMed and only came up with a limited number of articles, and they were all reviews.

Lisa

Re: Prognosis for future patients

Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2005 1:49 am
by NHE
LisaBee wrote:Interesting stuff for Alzheimer's! I need to read more on that.
I probably should have mentioned this in my prior post but better late than never. The complete pdf article on DHA, Neuroprotectin-D1, and Alzheimer's is freely available from The Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Do you know of any ongoing research on DHA and MS? I searched PubMed and only came up with a limited number of articles, and they were all reviews.
Not current ongoing research though I seem to recall that there was a study going on at Oregon Health Sciences University's MS Center that was looking at fish oil for treating depression associated with MS. In addition, although this is an older paper from 1995, it had a positive influence in my decision to start omega-3 supplementation after I was diagnosed in 1999.
  • Cytokine secretion and eicosanoid production in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of MS patients undergoing dietary supplementation with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids.
    J Neuroimmunol. 1995 Feb;56(2):143-53.
To demonstrate the influence of n-3 PUFA supplementation on cytokine and eicosanoid production in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of MS patients (MSP), we investigated the impact of a 6-month dietary supplementation with these fatty acids on the levels of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta), IL-2, interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in the supernatants of stimulated PBMCs and serum soluble IL-2 receptors in a group of 20 relapsing-remitting (R-R) MSP and a group of 15 age-matched control individuals (CI). The production of PGE2 and LTB4 in the stimulated PBMCs was also assessed in patient and control groups supplemented with n-3 PUFAs. In both groups, n-3 PUFA supplementation led to a significant decrease in the levels of IL-1 beta and TNF-alpha, and this reduction was more pronounced in the 3rd and 6th month of supplementation. An analogous decrease was observed in the levels of IL-2 and IFN-gamma produced by stimulated PBMCs, and in the levels of serum soluble IL-2 receptors. n-3 PUFA supplementation also appeared to significantly affect prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and leukotriene B4 (LTB4) production in PBMCs, both in MSP and the control group. The reduced production of these proinflammatory eicosanoids, and the decrease of some cytokines with an immunohenancing effect as a consequence of n-3 PUFA supplementation, could modulate some immune functions which have been demonstrated to be altered in MSP.
NHE