(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Omega-3 fatty acids, like the ones found in fatty
fish like salmon and sardines, have an anti-inflammatory effect. But the
findings of a new, large scale study shows they have no benefit in treating the
inflammatory bowl disorder Crohn’s disease.
“A significant amount of time and money is spent annually on alternative
therapies such as omega-3 fatty acids without strong evidence that they are
beneficial to patients with inflammatory bowl disease,” Brian Feagan, M.D.,
Robarts Clinical Trials director, was quoted as saying. Dr. Feagan led the
international study done at Robarts Research Institute at the University of
Western Ontario in London, Canada.
The belief that omega-3 fatty acids are effective against inflammatory bowl
disease may have started with a relatively small Italian research study
published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1996. That study said the
omega-3’s were beneficial in preventing Crohn’s disease relapses.
Dr. Feagan’s study, involving two large-scale trials, was 10 times the size of
the Italian study and included Crohn’s disease patients from Europe, Israel,
Canada and the United States. Both trials showed omega-3 fatty acids did nothing
to prevent a relapse of Crohn’s, but the patients who took them did have
significantly lower concentrations of triglycerides, which lowered their risk
for heart disease.
“Small single center clinical trials often overestimate the true effects of
treatment,” said Dr. Feagan. “That’s why it’s important to conduct large scale
randomized, multi-center studies in order to confirm preliminary results.”
Dr. Faegan advises Crohn’s suffers to focus on prescription medications.
SOURCE: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 2008;299:1690-1697
