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hemorrhagic stroke is a legitimate issue. I believe that you offset that specific risk by significantly reducing the incidence of ischemic stroke with omega 3 or aspirin. Atherosclerosis. 2012 Dec;225(2):291-5. doi: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2012.09.006. Epub 2012 Sep 18. Omega-3 fatty acids: benefits for cardio-cerebro-vascular diseases. Siegel G, Ermilov E. Source Charité - University Clinic Berlin, D-14195 Berlin, Germany. guenter.siegel@charite.de Abstract BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Intracranial artery stenosis (ICAS) is a narrowing of an intracranial artery, which is a common etiology for ischemic stroke. In this commentary, we review key aspects of the discrimination between non-stroke controls and ischemic stroke patients on the background of phospholipid ω3-fatty acid (DHA, EPA) composition. The discussion is embedded in the presentation of general effects of long-chain ω3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in cardio-cerebro-vascular diseases (CCVDs) and Alzheimer dementia (AD). SUMMARY OF COMMENTARY: ICAS is a common stroke subtype and has emerged as a major factor in recurrent stroke and vascular mortality. DHA and EPA are important fatty acids to distinguish between NCAS (no cerebral arteriosclerotic stenosis) and ICAS in stroke. The risk of ICAS is inversely correlated with the DHA content in phospholipids. Furthermore, a mechanistic explanation has been proposed for the beneficial effects of PUFAs in CCVDs and AD. CONCLUSIONS: Whereas the beneficial effects of EPA/DHA for cardiovascular diseases and stroke seem to be beyond question, preventive effects in patients with very mild cognitive dysfunction and beginning Alzheimer's disease undoubtedly need confirmation by larger clinical trials. A collaborative international basic science approach is warranted considering cautiously designed studies in order to avoid ethical problems. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. Am Heart J. 2013 Feb;165(2):208-15.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.ahj.2012.10.021. Epub 2013 Jan 4. Plasma n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in chronic heart failure in the GISSI-Heart Failure Trial: relation with fish intake, circulating biomarkers, and mortality. Masson S, Marchioli R, Mozaffarian D, Bernasconi R, Milani V, Dragani L, Tacconi M, Marfisi RM, Borgese L, Cirrincione V, Febo O, Nicolis E, Maggioni AP, Tognoni G, Tavazzi L, Latini R. Source Department of Cardiovascular Research, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche "Mario Negri," Milan, Italy. Abstract Treatment with long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) can improve clinical outcomes in patients with heart failure (HF). Circulating levels of n-3 PUFA, an objective estimation of exposure, have never been measured in a large cohort of patients with HF. METHODS: We measured n-3 PUFA in plasma phospholipids at baseline and after 3 months in 1,203 patients with chronic HF enrolled in the GISSI-Heart Failure trial and randomized to n-3 PUFA 1 g/daily or placebo. N-3 PUFA levels were related to clinical characteristics, pharmacologic treatments, dietary habits, circulating biomarkers, and mortality. RESULTS: Baseline n-3 PUFA (5.1 ± 1.8 mol%) was associated with dietary fish intake, with an average difference of 43% between patients with the lowest and highest consumptions (P < .0001). Baseline eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) but not docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) was inversely related to C-reactive protein, pentraxin-3, adiponectin, natriuretic peptide, and troponin levels. Three-month treatment with n-3 PUFA raised their levels by 43%, independently of dietary fish consumption; increases in EPA levels were associated with decreased pentraxin-3. Low baseline levels of EPA but not DHA were no longer related to higher mortality after the addition of circulating biomarkers to multivariable models. CONCLUSION: Before supplementation, circulating n-3 PUFA levels in patients with chronic HF mainly depend on dietary fish consumption and are inversely related to inflammatory markers and disease severity. Three-month treatment with n-3 PUFA markedly enriched circulating EPA and DHA, independently of fish intake, and lowered pentraxin-3. Low EPA levels are inversely related to total mortality in patients with chronic HF. Copyright © 2013 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved. Kardiologiia. 2012;52(12):17-23. [Influence of ω-3 PUFAs on predictors of sudden cardiac death in patients with Q-wave myocardial infarction]. [Article in Russian] Logacheva IV, Barantseva NG, Vinokurova ES. Abstract OBJECTIVE: To assess effect of ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) on non-invasive predictors of sudden cardiac death (ventricular arrhythmias, QT duration and variability, late ventricular potentials [LVP], microvolt-level T-wave alternans [MTWA], and heart rhythm turbulence [HRT]) in patients with Q-wave myocardial infarction (MI) and ventricular heart rhythm disturbances (VHRD). MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included 140 men aged 52.5+/-1.3 years with primary diagnosis of Q-wave MI and I-IV Lown grade VHRD. Patients were randomized in 2 groups: index group (A) and control group (B) consisted of 70 persons each. Patients of index and control groups were divided into another 2 groups by severity of arrhythmic syndrome: Al (n=39) and Bl (n=38) with I-III grade VHRDs; A2 (n=31) and B2 (n=32) with IV-V grade VHRDs. In index groups (Al and A2) ω-3 PUFA medicine was administered additionally to standard therapy at a dose of 1 g/day during 6 months. All patients underwent standard clinical examination and 24-hour Holter ECG monitoring on days 10-14 and in 6 months after MI. RESULTS: Decreases of single and paired ventricular extrasystoles, ventricular tachycardia runs, total duration of myocardial ischemia were observed in patients of index groups Al and A2 after ω-3 PUFAs treatment. After 6 months of ω-3 PUFAs treatment significant QT shortening and increase of QTc variability were noted. Numbers of patients with LVP in Al and A2 groups decreased 21.3% (p<0.05) and 38.7% (p<0.0l), with HRT - 20.5% and 29.1% (p<0.05), with MTWA - 18% and 16.1% (p<0.01). In control groups the result was statistically insignificant. CONCLUSION: Administration of 1 g/day of a prescription preparation of 90% ω-3 PUFAs in patients with primary Q-wave MI was associated with decrease of ventricular ectopy severity in patients with low and high grade VHRD and simultaneous reduction of total myocardial ischemia time. ω-3 PUFAs administration for 6 months had marked positive effect on QT duration and variability, LVP, HRT, MTWA. PMID: 23237436 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] Br J Nutr. 2012 Jun;107 Suppl 2:S201-13. doi: 10.1017/S0007114512001596. Long chain omega-3 fatty acids and cardiovascular disease: a systematic review. Delgado-Lista J, Perez-Martinez P, Lopez-Miranda J, Perez-Jimenez F. Source Lipids and Atherosclerosis Unit, Department of Medicine, IMIBIC/Hospital Universitario Reina Sofía/Universidad de Cordoba, Cordoba, Spain. Abstract Introduction: Cardiovascular disease remains the commonest health problem in developed countries, and residual risk after implementing all current therapies is still high. The use of marine omega-3 fatty acids (DHA and EPA) has been recommended to reduce cardiovascular risk by multiple mechanisms. Objectives: To update the current evidence on the influence of omega-3 on the rate of cardiovascular events. Review Methods: We used the MEDLINE and EMBASE databases to identify clinical trials and randomized controlled trials of omega-3 fatty acids (with quantified quantities) either in capsules or in dietary intake, compared to placebo or usual diet, equal to or longer than 6 months, and written in English. The primary outcome was a cardiovascular event of any kind and secondary outcomes were all-cause mortality, cardiac death and coronary events. We used RevMan 5·1 (Mantel-Haenszel method). Heterogeneity was assessed by the I2 and Chi2 tests. We included 21 of the 452 pre-selected studies. Results: We found an overall decrease of risk of suffering a cardiovascular event of any kind of 10 % (OR 0·90; [0·85-0·96], p = 0·001), a 9 % decrease of risk of cardiac death (OR 0·91; [0·83-0·99]; p = 0·03), a decrease of coronary events (fatal and non-fatal) of 18 % (OR 0·82; [0·75-0·90]; p < 1 × 10⁻⁴), and a trend to lower total mortality (5 % reduction of risk; OR 0·95; [0·89-1·02]; p = 0·15. Most of the studies analyzed included persons with high cardiovascular risk. Conclusions: marine omega-3 fatty acids are effective in preventing cardiovascular events, cardiac death and coronary events, especially in persons with high cardiovascular risk. PMID: 22591894 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]