Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids prevents atrial fibrillation by inhibiting inflammation in a canine sterile pericarditis model. - GreenMedInfo Summary
n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids prevents atrial fibrillation by inhibiting inflammation in a canine sterile pericarditis model.
Int J Cardiol. 2010 Sep 8. Epub 2010 Sep 8. PMID: 20832129
Department of Cardiology, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Baqiao District, Xi'an 710038, PR China.
OBJECTIVE: It has been recently reported that atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with inflammation and inflammatory cytokines, and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) might be of anti-inflammatory effects. This study was to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effect of PUFAs on AF in a canine sterile pericarditis model. METHODS: 20 dogs were randomly assigned to two groups: control group (10 dogs) and PUFA treatment group (10 dogs), in which sterile pericarditis was created by open-chest operation. PUFAs were administered orally (2g/day) 4weeks before the operation till the end of the study. Before and 2days after the operation, CRP, IL-6, TNF-α levels, the inducibility and maintenance of AF, the atrial effective refractory period (AERPs), and intra-atrial conduction time were determined. RESULTS: Before the operation, there were no significant differences in any of the parameters between the two groups. On the second postoperative day,the PUFA group had a lower CRP level (7.6±0.5 vs. 11.7±1.3mg/dl, P<0.0001), a lower IL-6 level (112.0±37.3 vs. 142.0±19.6pg/ml, P<0.01), a lower TNF-α level (83.3±8.5 vs. 112.4±8.2pg/ml, P<0.0001), a less AF inducibility (percentage of burst attempts leading to AF episodes: 11±7.4 vs. 28±10.3, P<0.001) and maintenance [median AF duration: 1105s (655.8-1406.5) vs. 2516.5s (1187-3361), P<0.05], a longer AERP (133.4±4.1 vs. 129.8±4.3ms, P<0.05), and a shorter intra-atrial conduction time (46.6±4.4 vs. 51.9±4.8ms, P<0.05) than the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Dietary n-3 PUFA supplementation attenuates the inducibility and maintenance of AF in the sterile pericarditis model by reducing the production of proinflammatory cytokines.