Re: Fish oil lengthens telemeres

[Guest guest]

Hi folks:

What an amazing paper this is! With the usual qualification: " assuming these

results are confirmed by future studies " this may be the most significant paper

related to health that I have seen in a long time.

After thoroughly going over the full text of this paper, and thinking about it

for a few days, I will very likely increase my fish oil intake appreciably

......... on the basis that the benefits MAY be substantial and the risk of

harm SEEMS minimal. No point in waiting the (perhaps seven) years before

another study confirms these results.

But if anyone has good reason to suspect that additional fish oil (within reason

of course) might be hazardous, please post why you think so.

The full text of the paper can be accessed here:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2797633/?tool=pubmed

Rodney.

>

>

> Telomere length could explain effects of fish oil in CHD

> JANUARY 19, 2010 | Nainggolan

>

> San Francisco, CA - A new study in patients with coronary artery disease

> (CAD) has uncovered an inverse association between baseline blood levels of

> fish oil and the rate of telomere shortening over five years, suggesting a

> possible explanation for the protective effects of omega-3 fatty acids [1].

>

> Telomeres are the extreme ends of chromosomal DNA that shorten with age.

> Telomere shortening is seen as an indicator of biological aging, and

> telomere length has been shown to independently predict morbidity and

> mortality in patients with cardiovascular diseases, Dr Ramin Farzaneh-Far

> (San Francisco General Hospital, CA) and colleagues explain in their paper

> published in the January 20, 2010 issue of the Journal of the American

> Medical Association.

>

> This is yet another reason for cardiologists to try to convince their

> patients to take either a fish-oil supplement or eat regular fatty-fish

> meals.

> " This suggests the existence of a novel mechanism for why omega-3 fatty

> acids are effective in this patient population‹an area that has not been

> well worked out previously; it suggests they could be acting through

> telomeres, " Farzaneh-Far told heartwire. " It's also the first study that

> shows that a dietary factor may be able to slow down telomere shortening, "

> he observes.

>

> However he stresses that this was, " at its heart, an observational study "

> and that a randomized trial will be needed to prove causality. But in the

> meantime, the results " underscore and reinforce the American Heart

> Association guidelines that patients with CAD should be taking 1 g a day of

> omega-3 fatty acids for secondary prevention, " he says. " This is yet another

> reason for cardiologists to try to convince their patients to take either a

> fish-oil supplement or eat regular fatty-fish meals. "

>

> Those with lowest levels of fatty acids had fastest rate of telomere

> shortening

>

> The researchers recruited 608 outpatients with stable CAD taking part in the

> Heart and Soul Study between 2000 and 2002 and measured telomere length at

> baseline in the blood and again after five years of follow-up, using a

> standard telomere-length assay. They also assessed baseline blood levels of

> the marine omega-3 fatty acids docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and

> eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), expressed as a percentage of total fatty-acid

> methyl esters, " a relatively new blood test, " Farzaneh-Far explains.

>

> Patients were divided into quartiles on the basis of their marine omega-3

> fatty-acid levels, with means of 2.3%, 3.3%, 4.3%, and 7.3% in the four

> groups, respectively. Farzaneh-Far says an important point to note is that

> omega-3 fatty acids " can be obtained only from the diet; there is no

> endogenous production. " The optimal level of omega-3 fatty acids is not

> firmly established but is thought to be around 7% to 8%, " with most people

> on Western diets likely having levels way below what is optimal, " he says.

>

> Those in the lowest quartile of DHA+EPA experienced the fastest rate of

> telomere shortening, 0.13 telomere-to-single-copy-gene ratio [T/S] units

> over five years, whereas those in the highest quartile experienced the

> slowest rate, 0.05 T/S units over five years (p<0.001 for linear trend

> across the quartiles).

>

> Farzaneh-Far says the research is " one of the few . . . that has two

> measurements of telomere length, so we were able to measure the actual rate

> of change, which gives us a sense of the rate at which biological aging is

> taking place. From a scientific point of view, that is one of the novel

> elements of this study. "

>

> Also, " from the telomere point of view, this is the first study to show an

> effect of a dietary factor, that this may be able to slow down telomere

> shortening, " he notes.

>

> Even after extensive statistical adjustments for confounding factors, " we

> found a dose-dependent decrease in the rate of telomere shortening according

> to the level of baseline omega-3 fatty acids, " he reiterates, " suggesting

> that the association is causal. "

>

> However, he acknowledges, " To prove this, you would need a randomized trial.

> This would entail taking patients and measuring their telomere length at

> baseline, then randomizing half to omega-3 fatty acids and half to placebo

> and measuring the telomere length again to see whether the treatment group

> had less shortening of their telomeres: that would be the gold-standard way

> to prove causality. "

>

>

> Could omega-3 fatty acids be a risk factor for CHD?

>

> Farzaneh-Far says the research also highlights a possible new concept: that

> omega-3 fatty acids could be used as a marker for coronary artery disease,

> in much the same way as cholesterol, for example.

>

> " The idea is that the omega-3 index, the percentage of fatty acids in the

> blood, could be measured and that low levels would predict worse outcomes.

> So the omega-3 index might be useful for risk stratification in the future. "

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks for finding the full text. This infor was also reported on tonight’s national news (ABC). As I’ve mentioned before, the only supplements I take these days are:

1. Fish oil

2. Vit D

On 1/19/10 10:17 PM, " perspect1111 " <perspect1111@...> wrote:

Hi folks:

What an amazing paper this is! With the usual qualification: " assuming these results are confirmed by future studies " this may be the most significant paper related to health that I have seen in a long time.

After thoroughly going over the full text of this paper, and thinking about it for a few days, I will very likely increase my fish oil intake appreciably ........ on the basis that the benefits MAY be substantial and the risk of harm SEEMS minimal. No point in waiting the (perhaps seven) years before another study confirms these results.

But if anyone has good reason to suspect that additional fish oil (within reason of course) might be hazardous, please post why you think so.

The full text of the paper can be accessed here:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2797633/?tool=pubmed

Rodney.

>

>

> Telomere length could explain effects of fish oil in CHD

> JANUARY 19, 2010 | Nainggolan

>

> San Francisco, CA - A new study in patients with coronary artery disease

> (CAD) has uncovered an inverse association between baseline blood levels of

> fish oil and the rate of telomere shortening over five years, suggesting a

> possible explanation for the protective effects of omega-3 fatty acids [1].

>

> Telomeres are the extreme ends of chromosomal DNA that shorten with age.

> Telomere shortening is seen as an indicator of biological aging, and

> telomere length has been shown to independently predict morbidity and

> mortality in patients with cardiovascular diseases, Dr Ramin Farzaneh-Far

> (San Francisco General Hospital, CA) and colleagues explain in their paper

> published in the January 20, 2010 issue of the Journal of the American

> Medical Association.

>

> This is yet another reason for cardiologists to try to convince their

> patients to take either a fish-oil supplement or eat regular fatty-fish

> meals.

> " This suggests the existence of a novel mechanism for why omega-3 fatty

> acids are effective in this patient population—an area that has not been

> well worked out previously; it suggests they could be acting through

> telomeres, " Farzaneh-Far told heartwire. " It's also the first study that

> shows that a dietary factor may be able to slow down telomere shortening, "

> he observes.

>

> However he stresses that this was, " at its heart, an observational study "

> and that a randomized trial will be needed to prove causality. But in the

> meantime, the results " underscore and reinforce the American Heart

> Association guidelines that patients with CAD should be taking 1 g a day of

> omega-3 fatty acids for secondary prevention, " he says. " This is yet another

> reason for cardiologists to try to convince their patients to take either a

> fish-oil supplement or eat regular fatty-fish meals. "

>

> Those with lowest levels of fatty acids had fastest rate of telomere

> shortening

>

> The researchers recruited 608 outpatients with stable CAD taking part in the

> Heart and Soul Study between 2000 and 2002 and measured telomere length at

> baseline in the blood and again after five years of follow-up, using a

> standard telomere-length assay. They also assessed baseline blood levels of

> the marine omega-3 fatty acids docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and

> eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), expressed as a percentage of total fatty-acid

> methyl esters, " a relatively new blood test, " Farzaneh-Far explains.

>

> Patients were divided into quartiles on the basis of their marine omega-3

> fatty-acid levels, with means of 2.3%, 3.3%, 4.3%, and 7.3% in the four

> groups, respectively. Farzaneh-Far says an important point to note is that

> omega-3 fatty acids " can be obtained only from the diet; there is no

> endogenous production. " The optimal level of omega-3 fatty acids is not

> firmly established but is thought to be around 7% to 8%, " with most people

> on Western diets likely having levels way below what is optimal, " he says.

>

> Those in the lowest quartile of DHA+EPA experienced the fastest rate of

> telomere shortening, 0.13 telomere-to-single-copy-gene ratio [T/S] units

> over five years, whereas those in the highest quartile experienced the

> slowest rate, 0.05 T/S units over five years (p<0.001 for linear trend

> across the quartiles).

>

> Farzaneh-Far says the research is " one of the few . . . that has two

> measurements of telomere length, so we were able to measure the actual rate

> of change, which gives us a sense of the rate at which biological aging is

> taking place. From a scientific point of view, that is one of the novel

> elements of this study. "

>

> Also, " from the telomere point of view, this is the first study to show an

> effect of a dietary factor, that this may be able to slow down telomere

> shortening, " he notes.

>

> Even after extensive statistical adjustments for confounding factors, " we

> found a dose-dependent decrease in the rate of telomere shortening according

> to the level of baseline omega-3 fatty acids, " he reiterates, " suggesting

> that the association is causal. "

>

> However, he acknowledges, " To prove this, you would need a randomized trial.

> This would entail taking patients and measuring their telomere length at

> baseline, then randomizing half to omega-3 fatty acids and half to placebo

> and measuring the telomere length again to see whether the treatment group

> had less shortening of their telomeres: that would be the gold-standard way

> to prove causality. "

>

>

> Could omega-3 fatty acids be a risk factor for CHD?

>

> Farzaneh-Far says the research also highlights a possible new concept: that

> omega-3 fatty acids could be used as a marker for coronary artery disease,

> in much the same way as cholesterol, for example.

>

> " The idea is that the omega-3 index, the percentage of fatty acids in the

> blood, could be measured and that low levels would predict worse outcomes.

> So the omega-3 index might be useful for risk stratification in the future. "

>