A Study of Different Types of Fatty Acid on Risk Factors for Heart Disease

University of Reading59 enrolled

Overview

Experimental elevation of non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) impairs endothelial function and insulin sensitivity but the impact of NEFA composition is unknown. The objective was to test the effect of acute elevation of NEFA enriched with either saturated fatty acids (SFA) or SFA with long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC n-3 PUFA) on postprandial vascular function measured via flow-mediated dilatation (FMD), laser Doppler iontophoresis (LDI) and digital volume pulse (DVP), followed by a hyperinsulinaemic-euglycaemic clamp as a measure of whole body insulin sensitivity.

To investigate potential diet-gene interactions, potential subjects (n=370) were prospectively genotyped for the eNOS Glu298Asp polymorphism, of which 35 were Asp298 and 150 were Glu298 homozygotes. Three subjects in the Asp298 group were unable to participate, two were unsuitable according to selection criteria and one subject subsequently withdrew from the study. Subjects homozygous for Asp298 (n=29) and Glu298 (n=30) were therefore selected, balanced for gender, age and BMI.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

SINGLE

Enrollment

Conditions

Cardiovascular Risk Factors

Interventions

Absence or presence of fish oilDIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Oral dose of saturated fat with or without fish oil and a heparin infusion

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 60 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Healthy * Either homozygous for eNOS Glu298 (wildtype)or eNOS Asp298 (variant) Exclusion Criteria: * Smokers * Raised fasting blood lipids * Taking excessive fish oil supplements (\>1g EPA/DHA per day) * Taking medication known to influence blood lipids, blood pressure or blood clotting

Locations (1)

University of Reading

Reading, United Kingdom