September 9/Drug Week -- According to recent research published in the journal Nutrition in Clinical Practice, "Inflammation has been identified as a marker for cardiovascular disease. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of fish oil fatty acid Supplementation on C-reactive protein (CRP) levels."

"The study uses a double-blind, permuted-randomized and placebo-controlled experimental protocol. are randomly placed into a fish oil group or a control group. Thirty-three patients in the experimental and control groups ingest two soft-gel pills (1g each) of fish oil supplements containing eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) or placebo at each meal. follow the supplementation protocol for six months.

"Analysis of variance (ANOVA) is used to measure pretest and posttest differences in the variable of interest. A Kolmogorov-Smirnov test for normality is used to test whether CRP levels are normally distributed. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test for CRP finds a P Value of .273 (KS = .997), revealing that the distribution is normal. ANOXIA reveals no statistically significant difference between groups at baseline for CRP (F = 4.118, P = .053). ANOXIA reveals a significant main effect (F = 4.29, P = .048) for CRP, with the EPA/DHA group having a significant change in values from pretest (16 mg/dL, standard deviation [SD] = 13.80) to posttest (10.22 mg/dL, SD = 7.87). The placebo group's CRP levels do not change Significantly from pretest (13.37, standard deviation [SD] = 7.94) to posttest (13.67, SD = 7.07). An observed power calculation using Cohen's D with a computed alpha of .05 is .588," wrote R.G. Bowden and colleagues, Baylor University.

The researchers concluded, "The study demonstrates that consuming 960mg/d of EPA and 600mg/d of DHA can lower CRP."

Bowden and colleagues published their study in Nutrition in Clinical Practice ("Fish Oil Supplementation Lowers C-Reactive Protein Levels Independent of Triglyceride Reduction in Patients With End-Stage Renal Disease." Nutrition in Clinical Practice, 2009;24(4):508-512).

For additional information, contact R.G. Bowden, Baylor University, School Education, Waco, TX 76798.

From the September 14, 2009, Prepared Foods E-dition