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Any thoughts? We've been discussing intimal hyperplasia in Dr. Cumming's thread.
Cod-liver oil rich in eicosapentaenoic acid, an unsaturated fatty acid, has been shown to inhibit platelet aggregation. To determine the effect of this acid on vein-graft intimal hyperplasia, 46 segments of undistended external jugular vein were interposed between the bilaterally divided femoral arteries of 26 mongrel dogs. The animals received a 2% cholesterol diet for 1 week before and 6 weeks after the operation. Eight control animals received the diet alone, eight received cod-liver oil containing 1.8 g of eicosapentaenoic acid daily, for 1 week before and 6 weeks after operation, and seven animals received 1.8 g of eicosapentaenoic acid daily for 6 weeks after operation. Intimal thickness was measured at 6 weeks with a Zeiss computerized interactive image analysing system from multiple cross-sections of vein graft; 395 +/- 10 measurements were made from each graft. The intima measured 4 +/- 0.2 micron (SEM) before implantation and increased to 83 +/- 10 micron in the controls. Eicosapentaenoic acid administered before and after operation reduced intimal hyperplasia to 24 +/- 2.5 micron (p less than 0.001) and to 30 +/- 5 micron in animals receiving eicosapentaenoic acid after operation only (p less than 0.001). These results indicate that the acid inhibits intimal hyperplasia of canine vein grafts but that it is more effective when given before operation (p less than 0.01).
Cod liver oil is one of the supplements I currently take, it's in Joan's endothelial health program (located on ccsvi.org).
Please note that this is research on dogs and not humans, so we are extrapolating some.
well...if it's eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) you're after...it can be sourced elsewhere - other fish oil tablets, in actual oily fish such as atlantic salmon, sardines, etc.
Cod Liver Oil (CLO) has lots of vitamin D and vitamin A...so you have to be careful to not overconsume these. The fish oils contain a significant amount of saturated fat also (around 30% of the tablet). Some people use altrnative Omega-3 supplements for this reason (ground flaxseed, or algae-derived DHA...only around 10% saturated fat).
I suggest that Fish Oil is better than Cod Liver Oil as there are no problems with excess vitamin A (excess vitamin D is not a problem for pwMS).
I take 10ml of 'Omega Juice' a brand of fish oil with 1800mg of EPA and 1200mg of DHA in 10ml. Its cheap and could benefit my brain and heart. There are no 'proven' reasons for taking Omega 3 for MS, just indications. I am 70kg so probably weigh more than a dog.
MarkW
Mark Walker - Oxfordshire, England. Retired Industrial Pharmacist. 24 years of study about MS.
CCSVI Comments:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/8359854/MS-experts-in-Britain-have-to-open-their-minds.html
that's a problem with this dog study...you don't know if the EPA, vitamin A or vitamin D is imparting the beneficial effect. Would love to read a study which used regular fih oil.
hwebb wrote:that's a problem with this dog study...you don't know if the EPA, vitamin A or vitamin D is imparting the beneficial effect. Would love to read a study which used regular fih oil.
Since it says EPA is known to have an antiplatelet effect, I'm going to go with that it's the EPA.
I have my Cod Liver Oil supplements right here, they have 1,250 IU (25% daily value) of the Vitamin A. Then in my regular multivitamin there is 3500 IU of vitamin A (70% DV). Too much?
ok, googling "fish intimal hyperplasia" in google scholar and hoping for humans netted this: http://jasn.asnjournals.org/content/13/1/184.abstract
which puts the dose of fish oil at 4000 mg in a randomized study on thrombosis in grafts
I eat oily fish such as eel, atlantic salmon, and sardines (this seems the best). On days that I dont, I supplement using an algae-based omega 3 supplement. It definitely helps my blood to run freely - as monitored daily during my copaxone injection time.
