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| |  BSI CONGRESS: Seafood On The Menu For Rheumatoid Arthritis Sufferers BRIGHTON, ENGLAND -- December 5, 1997 -- We have long been advised to reduce the amount of saturated fat in our diets and to make sure that we eat polyunsaturates instead. But now it seems that the type of polyunsaturated fat could also be important, if you suffer from an inflammatory disease like rheumatoid arthritis (RA). At the British Society for Immunology Annual Congress in Brighton today, Dr. Richard Sperling of the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, MA described how altering the type of fat in the diet can alter the immune system's inflammatory response, with benefits for the patient. Neutrophils are the most common type of white blood cell. They are found in large numbers at the site of inflammation in RA and inflammatory bowel disease. They have a number of pro-inflammatory effects. Neutrophils make a molecule called leukotriene B4 (LTB4) which plays a critical role in promoting inflammation. The starting material they use is a polyunsaturated fatty acid called arachidonic acid, which in turn is derived from the types of polyunsaturated fatty acids found in land-based plants and animals. Marine plants and animals contain quite different fatty acids from their land-based equivalents, for example eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid. These fatty acids can take the place of arachidonic acid in the neutrophil's LTB4 manufacturing process, resulting in slightly different end products. These products have a less inflammatory effect than LTB4 itself. Dr. Sperling and his colleagues have shown dietary eicosapentaenoic acid reduces the production of LTB4 by neutrophils, both from healthy donors and patients with inflammatory disorders. In addition, a diet rich in eicosapentaenoic acid and other marine-derived fatty acids has been shown to have other beneficial effects on neutrophil activity: neutrophils are less likely to migrate to the site of inflammation, and to release other molecules and enzymes which cause damage at the site of inflammation. A number of studies have shown that diets enriched in marine fish oils have a modest beneficial effect in patients with diseases such as RA and inflammatory bowel disease. Dr. Sperling's results suggest that this is because of the calming effect these oils have on neutrophil activity.
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