Omega-3s level triglycerides in patients with diabetes problems

Diabetes: fish oil decreases triglycerides in patients

Omega 3s represent a new therapeutic opportunity for those with diabetes who have problems with excessively high blood lipids. Eliot Brinton, M.D., of the Utah Foundation for Biomedical Research in Salt Lake City, USA, previewed the news at the American Diabetes Association's annual conference in Philadelphia, USA. According to studies that have not yet been officially published, a new drug consisting of 96 percent Omega-3 EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) improves lipid concentrations in patients already on other drugs without interfering with diabetes therapies.

Omega-3s versus fats and sugars

The study presented at the conference focused on a group of 702 patients on statin therapy, drugs useful in reducing blood fat levels. Treatment with statins had already normalized LDL or "bad" cholesterol values (between 40 and 100 milligrams per deciliter) in all participants, but not that of triglycerides, between 200 and 500 milligrams per deciliter. Among them, 514 had type 2 diabetes, the form of the disease that tends to develop with age. The patients were assigned completely randomly to 1 of 3 possible groups:

• The first 2 took 4 or 2 grams per day of the omega-3 drug for 12 weeks, respectively;
• In contrast, the third group received a placebo for the same period.

At the end of 12 weeks, the higher dose of the drug enabled patients with diabetes to:

• Reduce triglyceride levels by 23.2%;
• decrease all forms of cholesterol other than "good" (or HDL) cholesterol by 14.4 percent;
• Lower LDL cholesterol levels by 6.6 percent.

Patients presented decreasingly:

• concentrations of apo B, a protein contained in a particular form of "bad" cholesterol (9.5 percent);
• RLP-C particles, which are associated with atherosclerosis (25 percent).

Brinton pointed out, however, that the most significant effects were in patients who had the most trouble controlling their diabetes at the start of treatment. In the latter, C-reactive protein levels, which when elevated indicate the presence of inflammation, were also significantly lower at the end of 12 weeks, with a 34.6 percent reduction. The researcher also pointed out that all these changes did not affect the parameters used to keep diabetes under control, including insulin levels.

A dose-dependent effect for a drug for those with diabetes problems

The effect found by Brinton and colleagues is dose-dependent. In fact, the drug was less effective when taken at the lowest dose. Overall, these data suggest that this new Omega-3 drug could be particularly useful for diabetics who need to control both blood lipids and the disease itself. The researcher explained thatOmega-3 intake also had anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, further protecting the cardiovascular health of these patients.  

1. Brinton E, Ballantyne C, Bays H, Kastelein J, Braeckman R, Soni P, "Effects of AMR101 on Lipid and Inflammatory Parameters in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus-2 and Residual Elevated Triglycerides (200-500 mg/dL) on Statin Therapy at LDL-C Goal: the ANCHOR Study" ADA 2012; Abstract 629-P