cardiovascular disease (cvd) is the leading cause of death and disability in developed countries. atherosclerosis is the major cause of cvd, accounting for about half of the attributed deaths. cholesterol homeostasis is one of the most important factors in atherosclerosis. atp-binding cassette transporters cholesterol. omega (ω) 3 fatty acids are important ligands for regulation of abc transpor...

Satoh-Asahara et al. (1) recently reported that treatment with purified eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 1.8 g daily) for 3 months increases the serum EPA/arachidonic acid (AA) ratio and interleukin-10 levels of peripheral blood monocytes in association with slight decreases in the pulse wave velocity, an index of arterial stiffness, in obese patients with dyslipidemia. Pulse wave velocity values be...

BACKGROUND Delta-6 desaturase (FADS6) is a key bifunctional enzyme desaturating linoleic acid (LA) or α-linolenic acid (ALA) in the biosynthesis of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). In previous work, we analyzed the substrate specificity of two FADS6 enzymes from Mortierella alpina ATCC 32222 (MaFADS6) and Micromonas pusilla CCMP1545 (MpFADS6), which showed preference for LA and ALA, respect...

BACKGROUND Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) may reduce increased risks for (cardiovascular) morbidity and mortality in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and comorbid major depressive depression (MDD). Yet, effects of EPA-supplementation on biological risk factors for adverse outcomes have not been studied in DM-patients with MDD. METHODS We performed a randomized, double-blind trial (n = 25) co...

A number of studies have investigated the effects of fish oil on the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines using peripheral blood mononuclear cell models. The majority of these studies have employed heterogeneous blends of long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which preclude examination of the individual effects of LC n...

BACKGROUND Consumption of n-3 fatty acids reduces the incidence of cardiovascular mortality in populations that consume diets rich in fish oil. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) is an n-3 fatty acid known to reduce the frequency of nonfatal coronary events; however, the frequency of mortality after myocardial infarction (MI) is not reduced. The aims of this study were to determine whether long-term a...

Although high intake of n-3 fatty acids is associated with reduced mortality of patients with ischemic heart disease, especially reduction in sudden cardiac death (SCD), the detailed mechanisms remain to be elucidated. Thus, the present study was designed to examine whether long-term treatment with eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), a major component of n-3 fatty acids, reduces ischemia-induced ventr...

Previous studies have demonstrated that the n-3 fatty acid EPA improves insulin resistance induced by high-fat diets. The aim of the present study was to investigate the potential role of visfatin and apelin in the insulin-sensitising effects of EPA ethyl ester. The effects of EPA on muscle and adipose GLUT mRNA, as well as on liver glucokinase (GK) and glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase) activity, ...

BACKGROUND Visceral fat accumulation is caused by over-nutrition and physical inactivity. Excess accumulation of visceral fat associates with atherosclerosis. Polyunsaturated fatty acids have an important role in human nutrition, but imbalance of dietary long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, especially low eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) / arachidonic acid (AA) ratio, is associated with increased...

Consultants regularly need to decide whether a trainee can be entrusted to perform a clinical activity independently. 'Entrustable professional activities' (EPA) provide a framework for justifying and better utilising supervisor entrustment decisions for trainee feedback and assessment in the workplace. Since being proposed by Olle ten Cate in 2005, EPA are emerging as an integral part of many ...