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. 2017 Sep 20;9(9):1036.
doi: 10.3390/nu9091036.

Red Blood Cell Eicosapentaenoic Acid Inversely Relates to MRI-Assessed Carotid Plaque Lipid Core Burden in Elders at High Cardiovascular Risk

Núria Bargalló  1   2 , Rosa Gilabert  3 , Edwin-Saúl Romero-Mamani  4 , Montserrat Cofán  5   6 , Philip C Calder  7   8 , Montserrat Fitó  9   10 , Dolores Corella  11   12 , Jordi Salas-Salvadó  13   14 , Miguel Ruiz-Canela  15   16 , Ramon Estruch  17   18 , Emilio Ros  19   20 , Aleix Sala-Vila  21   22
Affiliations

Red Blood Cell Eicosapentaenoic Acid Inversely Relates to MRI-Assessed Carotid Plaque Lipid Core Burden in Elders at High Cardiovascular Risk

Núria Bargalló et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Supplemental marine omega-3 eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) has an anti-atherosclerotic effect. Clinical research on EPA supplied by the regular diet and atherosclerosis is scarce. In the framework of the PREvención con DIeta MEDiterránea (PREDIMED) trial, we conducted a cross-sectional study in 161 older individuals at high vascular risk grouped into different stages of carotid atherosclerosis severity, including those without ultrasound-detected atheroma plaque (n = 38), with plaques <2.0 mm thick (n = 65), and with plaques ≥2.0 mm (n = 79). The latter were asked to undergo contrast-enhanced 3T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and were subsequently grouped into absence (n = 31) or presence (n = 27) of MRI-detectable plaque lipid, a main feature of unstable atheroma plaques. We determined the red blood cell (RBC) proportion of EPA (a valid marker of long-term EPA intake) at enrolment by gas chromatography. In multivariate models, EPA related inversely to MRI-assessed plaque lipid volume, but not to maximum intima-media thickness of internal carotid artery, plaque burden, or MRI-assessed normalized wall index. The inverse association between EPA and plaque lipid content in patients with advanced atherosclerosis supports the notion that this fatty acid might improve cardiovascular health through stabilization of advanced atheroma plaques.

Keywords: atherosclerosis; diet; fish; imaging; omega-3.

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Conflict of interest statement

Philip C. Calder is an advisor to Pronova BioPharma. Jordi Salas-Salvadó has received research funding and is a non-paid member of the scientific advisory committee of the International Nut Council. Emilio Ros has received research funding from the California Walnut Commission and is also a non-paid member of its scientific advisory committee. No other authors declare a conflict of~interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow-chart of the study. “PREDIMED” denotes “PREvención con DIeta MEDiterranea”; “G” denotes group; “MRI” denotes “magnetic resonance imaging”.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Scatter plot of the red blood cell proportion of EPA and plaque lipid core burden.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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