Low levels of plasma omega 3-polyunsaturated fatty acids are associated with cerebral small vessel diseases in acute ischemic stroke patients

Tae Jin Song, Yoonkyung Chang, Min Jeong Shin, Ji Hoe Heo, Yong Jae Kim

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    35 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Cerebral small vessel diseases (SVDs) are related to stroke or cognitive dysfunction. n-3-polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) represent possible disease-modifying factors for cardiovascular disease or dementia. Our hypothesis was that a low proportion of plasma FAs would be associated with cerebral SVDs. We prospectively enrolled 220 patients with a first-episode cerebral infarction within 7. days after symptom onset. The composition of plasma FAs was analyzed by gas chromatography methods. The presence and burden of cerebral microbleeds (CMBs), high-grade white matter changes (HWCs), high-grade perivascular spaces (HPVSs), and asymptomatic lacunar infarctions (ALIs) were investigated. The mean proportion (±SD) was 2.0 ± 0.7 for EPA, 8.9 ± 1.5 for DHA, and 12.0 ± 2.1 for ∑ n-3-PUFAs. In total, 46 (20.9%) patients had CMBs, 64 (29.1 %) had HWCs, 57 (25.9%) had HPVSs, and 65 (29.5%) had ALIs. In univariate analyses, CMBs, HWCs, and HPVSs were each negatively correlated with the proportion of EPA, DHA, and ∑ n-3-PUFAs. In the multivariate analysis, a lower proportion of EPA, DHA and ∑ n-3-PUFAs was associated with the presence of CMBs, HWCs and HPVS, but not ALIs. Total SVDs score was inversely correlated with the proportion of EPA, DHA and ∑ n-3-PUFAs. Overall, we found an association between low proportions of plasma n-3-PUFAs and cerebral SVDs pathologies. Further studies are needed to explore the association and potential therapeutic role of FAs in cerebral SVDs.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)368-374
    Number of pages7
    JournalNutrition Research
    Volume35
    Issue number5
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2015 May 1

    Bibliographical note

    Funding Information:
    This work was supported by a grant from Ewha Womans University School of Medicine .

    Publisher Copyright:
    © 2015 Elsevier Inc.

    Keywords

    • Cerebral microbleeds
    • Fatty acids composition
    • N-3-polyunsaturated fatty acids
    • Perivascular spaces
    • Small vessel disease
    • White matter changes

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
    • Endocrinology
    • Nutrition and Dietetics

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