ω3脂肪酸の抗炎症作用

魚油に含まれるω3脂肪酸の抗炎症作用のレビュー論文を紹介します。

Wall R, Ross RP, Fitzgerald GF, Stanton C: Fatty acids from fish: the anti-inflammatory potential of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids. Nutr Rev. 2010 May;68(5):280-9.

ω3脂肪酸（例：EPA、DHA）に抗炎症作用があり、関節リウマチでの有効性はかなり明らかになっています。がん悪液質ではまだ賛否両論ですが。炎症性腸疾患でも有効という報告があります。

このような自己免疫疾患や膠原病に対する栄養療法というのは、日本ではあまり聞きません。関節リウマチなどでは生物学的製剤が著効するケースも少なくないので、栄養療法より薬物療法となるのはやむを得ないと思います。

リハ医の立場では、関節リウマチの治療の3本柱は薬物治療、手術治療、リハとなります。しかし、栄養療法を併用したほうがより効果を期待できるケースもあると思うので、3本柱を薬物治療、手術治療、リハ栄養としたほうがよいと考えます。

Abstract
Omega-6 (n-6) and omega-3 (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) are precursors of potent lipid mediators, termed eicosanoids, which play an important role in the regulation of inflammation. Eicosanoids derived from n-6 PUFAs (e.g., arachidonic acid) have proinflammatory and immunoactive functions, whereas eicosanoids derived from n-3 PUFAs [e.g., eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)] have anti-inflammatory properties, traditionally attributed to their ability to inhibit the formation of n-6 PUFA-derived eicosanoids. While the typical Western diet has a much greater ratio of n-6 PUFAs compared with n-3 PUFAs, research has shown that by increasing the ratio of n-3 to n-6 fatty acids in the diet, and consequently favoring the production of EPA in the body, or by increasing the dietary intake of EPA and DHA through consumption of fatty fish or fish-oil supplements, reductions may be achieved in the incidence of many chronic diseases that involve inflammatory processes; most notably, these include cardiovascular diseases, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), cancer, and rheumatoid arthritis, but psychiatric and neurodegenerative illnesses are other examples.