Omega 3 Fatty Acids and Rheumatoid Arthritis - Fact or Fiction?

Many of the lay articles we discussed in class presented dietary supplements that were supposed to help with arthritis treatment. Since we usually cannot cure arthritis completely, treatment tends to focus on reducing pain, improving function, and preventing further joint damage. The drugs that are recommended and prescribed to treat arthritis can cause serious side effects (such as bleeding ulcers, stomach problems, etc) and still may not be completely effective in eliminating pain. For this reason, many people with arthritis are desperate to find anything that will help them reduce pain and regain function and are willing to try just about anything (including Zymosine?). Many diets and supplements have been proposed as the new cure for arthritis, yet few are backed by scientific evidence. One supplement that everyone seemed to be suggesting was omega 3 fatty acids, so I thought I would look into it a little more since it seemed promising.

There have actually been quite a few studies conducted on this topic. For the most part, they all seem to agree that omega 3 fatty acids DO have some anti-inflammatory properties. One double-blind study of patients with active RA examined the effects of fish oil capsule supplements in addition to the standard arthritis medications and concluded that fish-oil consumption resulted in the improvement of RA symptoms and a reduction in neutrophil leukotriene B4 production. Another study looked at the long-term effects of omega 3 fatty acid supplementation in people with rheumatoid arthritis and found that a daily intake of 2.6 gm results in significant improvement and may reduce the need for concomitant anti rheumatic medication. Several other studies I read had similar results. Therefore, it does seem that an omega 3 fatty acid supplement may be helpful to people with rheumatoid arthritis - the question that remains now is that of dosage. We still are not sure the dosage that is recommended to produce significant improvement for patients. Further studies need to be conducted to determine this (although the above study suggests 2.6 grams/day so that may be a good approximation).

Sources:

Geusens, Piet, Carine Wouters, Jos Nijs, Yebin Jiang, and Jan Dequeker. "Long-term Effect of Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation in Active Rheumatoid Arthritis." Arthritis & Rheumatism 37.6 (1994): 824-29. Print.

Kremer, JM, W. Jubiz, A. Michalek, RI Rynes, and LE Bartholomew. "Fish-Oil Fatty Acid Supplementation in Active Rheumatoid Arthritis." Ann Intern Med. 4 (1987): 497-502. Print.

Proudman, Susanna M., Leslie G. Cleland, and Michael J. James. "Dietary Omega-3 Fats for Treatment of Inflammatory Joint Disease: Efficacy and Utility." Rheumatic Disease Clinics of North America 34.2 (2008): 469-79. Print.