Fish Oil Can Lower Triglycerides in HIV Patients

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Fish oil (omega-3 fatty acid) diet supplements appear to be an effective way to lower high triglyceride levels that are associated with antiretroviral therapy in HIV patients, researchers report in the issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.

"HIV therapies and HIV itself can cause concerning increased in triglycerides, which may place the individual at risk for cardiovascular disease," lead author Dr. David A. Wohl told Reuters Health. "Fish oil has been found in people without HIV infection to reduce triglycerides and also to prevent cardiovascular disease."

To investigate further, Dr. Wohl of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill conducted a pilot study with 52 patients who receiving at least three antiretroviral drugs and had fasting triglyceride levels of more than 200 mg/dL.

They were randomly assigned to receive dietary and exercise counseling, in addition to continuing their antiretrovirals, with or without fish oil supplementation for 16 weeks.

"We found that 3 grams of fish oil was very well tolerated," continued Wohl. "Furthermore, there was a significant reduction -- 25 percent at 4 weeks -- in triglyceride levels when fish oil was administered along with diet and exercise counseling compared to just the counseling alone, which had a minimal effect."

"The drop in triglycerides seen with fish oil was on par with that observed with prescription drugs that lower triglycerides," he concluded. Furthermore, "prescription drugs can introduce side effects such as muscle breakdown that are shared with certain HIV medications such as AZT."

SOURCE: Clinical Infectious Diseases, November 15, 2005.