Omega-3 Fatty Acids Improve the Symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis

By Kyle J. Norton

Rheumatoid Arthritis is a chronic disorder as a result of inflammation, affecting mostly the flexible (synovial) joints and tissues and organs in the body.

The disease affects more women than men and generally occurs after the ages of 40, causing the diminished quality of life of many elders.

Rheumatoid Arthritis can induce bone loss through elevating bone resorption without increasing bone formation.

A cross-sectional population-based study of 1042 patients with rheumatoid arthritis showed that RA patients had an increased risk of death from various causes.

There is no single cause of RA. Changes in the female hormonal environment such as in pregnancy, breastfeeding and the use of the oral contraceptive (OC) pill appear to have a role.  Cigarette smoking has been associated with a consistently increased risk that might also apply to the passive inhalation of smoke. Occupation probably has a minor influence, although exposure to silica dust is of aetiological importance. Recent studies have highlighted a role for diet, with suggestions that diets high in caffeine, low in antioxidants and high in red meat may contribute to an increased risk. 

The most plausible environmental exposure is an infection and although several decades of study have produced few definitive candidate organisms, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) remains an interesting target(22).

According to the CDC, Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) affect over 52 million adults in the US alone, including 294,000 children under age 18 with some form of arthritis or rheumatic conditions. 

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) often associate with valgus deformities of the feet and deformities of gait due to body function due to an effort to support the collapsing longitudinal arch of the foot.

 The kinematic and kinetic gait changes in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are the result of a significant reduction in joint motions, joint moments, such as decreased hip flexion-extension range, hip abduction, knee flexion-extension range,...

Long-term bone damage and the prolonged onset of the disease can induce deformities of hand and wrist and small peripheral joints (such as fingers and wrist) due to chronic inflammation.

The effects of muscle strength in patients with RA may contribute to the prevalence of functional limitations physically that can affect daily living and quality of life.

Furthermore, rheumatoid nodules, lump on the skin, closed to the joint have been found to affect the joints of patients with RA.

Moreover, morning stiffness, a marker of inflammatory activity that reflects functional disability and pain is a very common symptom of patients in the early stage of rheumatoid arthritis.

Omega-3 fatty acids are phytochemicals in the class of lipids, found abundantly in deepsea fisk, dark-green leafy vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts, etc.

The three main components of Omega-3 fatty acids are alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).

On finding a potential phytochemical for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, researchers evaluated the effects of omega -3 fatty acids on rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

The meta-analysis includes reviewing the published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) associated with potential changes in RA disease activity, inflammation, and CVD risk.

According to the results of 20 RCTs, involving 717 patients with RA in the intervention group and 535 RA patients in the control group,

* Consumption of ω-3 fatty acids was found to significantly improve eight disease-activity-related markers.

* Regarding inflammation, only leukotriene B4 was reduced compared to other pro-inflammatory markers.

* Omega 3 fatty acids was found to reduce blood triacylglycerol levels.

Collectively, researchers said, "The beneficial properties of ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on RA disease activity confirm the results of previous meta-analyses. Among the five proinflammatory markers evaluated, only leukotriene B4 was found to be reduced. However, a positive effect on the blood lipid profile of patients with RA was evident".

Taken altogether, Omega-3 fatty acids found abundantly in fish oil and plant oil may be considered a functional food for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Intake of Omega-3 fatty acids in the form of supplements should be taken with extreme care to prevent overdose acute liver toxicity.


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Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299.

Sources
(1) Intake of ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: A systematic review and meta-analysis by Gioxari A1, Kaliora AC2, Marantidou F1, Panagiotakos DP. (PubMed)
(2) The Effect of Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Patients With Active Rheumatoid Arthritis Receiving DMARDs Therapy: Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial by Rajaei E1, Mowla K, Ghorbani A, Bahadoram S, Bahadoram M, Dargahi-Malamir M. (PubMed)
(3) Risk factors for the development of rheumatoid arthritis by Oliver JE1, Silman AJ. (PubMed)