New Biochemical and Therapeutic Effects of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (Medical Fatty Acids in Inflammation (1998) J. M. Kremer (ed.), Birkhauser Verlag, Basel-Boston-Berlin)

V. P. Skulachev

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People generally acquire linolenic acid only if they consume fish products. Recently, several metabolic and clinical effects of this and other related lipids have been described. The reviewed book summarizes such observations and emphasizes their possible relevance in medical practice considering, first of all, anti-inflammatory effects. The book is one of the series Progress in Inflammation Studies. The book begins with a detailed chapter by P. K. Kalder describing the effect of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3FA) on phagocytes. Production of eicosanoids (similar to PGE₂) and inflammatory cytokines is significantly suppressed by a diet rich in n-3FA. Moreover, such diets inhibit chemotaxis of phagocytes.

In several chapters, beneficial therapeutic effects of n-3FA are analyzed in disorders in some way associated with chronic inflammation, and their biochemical mechanisms are considered. These disorders include rheumatoid arthritis (R. B. Curier, P. P. Goizens), psoriasis (V. A. Ciboh), eczema (D. F. Horrobin), Crohn's disease (A. Bellucin and F. Milyo), ulcerative colitis (J. B. Rodriges), and nervous system disorders (whose relationship to inflammation is uncertain) including schizophrenia and dyskinesia (D. F. Horrobin). G. Fernandes suggests that beneficial effects of fish oil containing large quantities of n-3FA in autoimmune disorders are associated with stimulation of mRNA transcription of anti-oxidant enzymes (catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione reductase). At the same time, transcription of mRNA of certain cytokines is changed (sometimes decreased and sometimes increased) and apoptosis is stimulated, whereas the life span of mice is increased.

The book is of interest for biochemists studying lipid metabolism and for cell biologists and physicians interested in problems of inflammation and investigating new treatments for the mentioned diseases.

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