Fish Oil Supplementation Beneficial for Lupus Patients

ULSTER, Ireland--The clinical effect of dietary supplementation with omega-3 fish oils with or without copper was studied in relation to disease activity in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The study, published in the current issue of the Journal of Rheumatology (31, 8:1551-6, 2004) (www.jrheum.com), was a double blind, double placebo-controlled factorial trial performed on 52 patients with SLE.

Patients were randomly assigned to four treatment groups. Physiological doses of omega-3 fish oils and copper readily obtainable by dietary means were used. The groups received 3 g fish oil as MaxEPA and 3 mg copper; fish oil plus a placebo; copper plus a placebo; or two placebo capsules. Serial measurements of disease activity using the revised Systemic Lupus Activity Measure (SLAM-R) and peripheral blood samples for routine hematological, biochemical, and immunological indices were taken at baseline, six, 12 and 24 weeks.

The study found a significant decline in SLAM-R score in subjects taking fish oil compared to placebo and no significant effect on SLAM-R in subjects taking copper. Scientists concluded dietary supplementation with fish oil may be beneficial in modifying symptomatic disease activity in the management of SLE.