Effects of Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation on Inflammatory Cytokines and Advanced Glycation End Products in Patients With Diabetic Nephropathy A Randomized Controlled Trial

Introduction. This study was performed to evaluate the effects of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation on inflammatory cytokines and advanced glycation end products (AGEs) in patients with diabetic nephropathy (DN). Materials and Methods. This randomized double-blind placebo controlled trial was done on 60 patients with DN who were randomly divided into 2 groups to receive either 1000 mg/d of omega-3 fatty acid from flaxseed oil (n = 30) or placebo (n = 30) for 12 weeks. The primary outcome variables were tumor necrosis factor-alpha, receptor tumor necrosis factor-alpha in at the onset and the end of the study to quantify the related markers. Results. Compared with the placebo, omega-3 fatty acid supplementation resulted in a significant decrease in serum AGEs (-2.3 +/- 2.8 AU versus 0.2 +/- 2.5 AU, P =.001). Despite a significant reduction in serum level of receptor for AGEs (-0.1 +/- 0.3 AU, P = .02) in the omega-3 fatty acid group, no significant difference was found between the two groups in terms of their effects on the receptor for AGEs. Supplementation with omega-3 fatty acid had no significant effect on the inflammatory cytokines as compared with the placebo. Conclusions. Our study demonstrated that omega-3 fatty acid supplementation among DN patients had favorable effects on AGEs and the receptor for AGEs.