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Net closes in on fish oil paradox: why it helps some people but not others
July 31, 2002Not everyone can benefit from fish oil. Although it has been known for many years to relieve the symptoms of inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, its beneficial effects are not universal. Indeed, in some people it has no anti-inflammatory effect at all.
Now researchers at the University of Southampton`s Institute of Human Nutrition investigating the reasons for this variability in the effectiveness of fish oil, are looking at a genetic cause.
The team, led by Professor Bob Grimble, is looking in particular at the genes that influence the ability of the body to make a molecule called tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF).
`This molecule acts as a trigger for inflammation and has been linked with the severity of inflammatory disease,` explains Professor Grimble. `Fish oil may act as an anti-inflammatory substance by suppressing the body`s ability to make TNF.`
The team studied the effects of a daily dose of fish oil on TNF production in a group of 250 healthy young men. They compared the genetic make-up of men in whom fish oil decreased the ability to make TNF with that of men in whom it did not.
`We were surprised to find that although variations in the gene carrying the code for making TNF had no influence on the anti-inflammatory effects of fish oil on TNF
production, variations in a gene lying next to the TNF gene did indicate which men showed decreased TNF production after taking fish oil,` said Professor Grimble.
Intriguingly the same gene that indicates a possible `anti-inflammatory` response to fish oil also carries the code for making a molecule called lymphotoxin-a which influences immune function. Raised TNF production is associated with variations in this gene.
The Southampton team`s initial research findings are published in the August edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), which funded the research, is funding further studies by the team to examine how the genetic characteristics of people with inflammatory diseases can influence the ability of fish oil and vitamin E to act as `anti-inflammatory` nutrients.
They will look at the effects of fish oil in people with severe cardiovascular disease and the effects of vitamin E in those with rheumatoid arthritis.
`We hope eventually that we will be able to predict those who will most benefit from an increased intake of foods rich in nutrients with "anti-inflammatory" properties,` adds Professor Grimble.
Southampton, University of
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