Researchers with the Fatty Acid Research Institute, in collaboration with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA, recently posted the results of a pilot study which found a potential link between low Omega-3 Index levels and mortality from COVID-19 infection.
Photo © iStockphoto.com/nicolas_
Researchers with the Fatty Acid Research Institute, in collaboration with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA, recently posted the results of a pilot study1 which found a potential link between low Omega-3 Index levels and mortality from COVID-19 infection. The study included 100 patients admitted into the hospital with COVID-19, whose blood samples were analyzed for omega-3 levels, and grouped into four quartiles based on Omega-3 Index.
There was one death in the top quartile (Omega-3 Index >5.7%), and 13 deaths in in the lower three quartiles (Omega-3 Index <5.7%). In age-and-sex adjusted regression analyses, patients in the highest quartile were 75% less likely to die compared those in the lower three quartiles, meaning the relative risk of death was four times higher in those with a lower Omega-3 Index compared to those with higher levels.
“While not meeting standard statistical significance thresholds, this pilot study – along with multiple lines of evidence regarding the anti-inflammatory effects of EPA and DHA – strongly suggests that these nutritionally available marine fatty acids may help reduce risk for adverse outcomes in COVID-19 patients. Larger studies are clearly needed to confirm these preliminary findings,” said Arash Asher, MD, the lead author on this study, in a press release.
An omega-3 expert not involved with the trial, James H. O’Keefe, Jr., MD, director of Preventive Cardiology, Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute (Kansas City, MO) observed in a press release, “An excessive inflammatory response, referred to as a ‘cytokine storm,’ is a fundamental mediator of severe COVID-19 illness. Omega-3 fatty acids (DHA and EPA) have potent anti-inflammatory activities, and this pilot study provides suggestive evidence that these fatty acids may dampen COVID-19’s cytokine storm.”
The research team is currently seeking funding to expand upon the preliminary observations found in the pilot study.
Reference
Cracking the code: Advancements in calcium absorption and nutritional understanding
July 23rd 2024Recent research conducted by ILSI U.S. and Canada – a global, nonprofit federation dedicated to advancing precompetitive research in the food, nutrition and health realms – and partially funded by Balchem, has shed light on how to improve predictions of Ca bioavailability across different food matrices.
Recent animal study finds that Lysoveta may help reduce neonatal brain injury
July 17th 2024A recent animal study found that lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC)-bound omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs), marketed as Lysoveta by Aker BioMarine, protected against neonatal hypoxic-ischemic (HI) brain injury in mice.