Becky Wright01.20.10
In a recent study, researchers investigated the ability of omega 3 fatty acids to prolong the survival of coronary heart disease patients. To test their theory they looked at omega-3 fatty acid blood levels and compared them with temporal changes in telomere length, an emerging marker of biological age. Scientists believe as telomeres shorten over time that the eventual result is cell death.
According to lead author Ramin Farzaneh-Far, MD, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of California San Francisco, who was quoted in an article on WebMD, this new study shows an entirely new effect of omega-3 fatty acids to slow down the biological aging process in patients with coronary heart disease,
The prospective cohort study, which was published in JAMA, examined 608 ambulatory outpatients in California with stable coronary artery disease who were recruited from the Heart and Soul Study between September 2000 and December 2002 and followed up to January 2009.
Researchers measured leukocyte telomere length at baseline and again after five years of follow-up. What they found was that individuals in the lowest quartile of DHA+EPA experienced the fastest rate of telomere shortening, whereas those in the highest quartile experienced the slowest rate of telomere shortening.
Among this cohort of patients with coronary artery disease, researchers found an inverse relationship between baseline blood levels of marine omega-3 fatty acids and the rate of telomere shortening over five years.
According to lead author Ramin Farzaneh-Far, MD, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of California San Francisco, who was quoted in an article on WebMD, this new study shows an entirely new effect of omega-3 fatty acids to slow down the biological aging process in patients with coronary heart disease,
The prospective cohort study, which was published in JAMA, examined 608 ambulatory outpatients in California with stable coronary artery disease who were recruited from the Heart and Soul Study between September 2000 and December 2002 and followed up to January 2009.
Researchers measured leukocyte telomere length at baseline and again after five years of follow-up. What they found was that individuals in the lowest quartile of DHA+EPA experienced the fastest rate of telomere shortening, whereas those in the highest quartile experienced the slowest rate of telomere shortening.
Among this cohort of patients with coronary artery disease, researchers found an inverse relationship between baseline blood levels of marine omega-3 fatty acids and the rate of telomere shortening over five years.
