The benefits of antioxidants or DHA/EPA supplementation for CF , although observed in some studies , are not consistent enough to recommend routine use of these supplements .
Antioxidant micronutrients and essential fatty acids supplementation intake appears to have a protective effect in some diseases such as cardiovascular disease , cancer , and asthma .
The aim of this study was to perform a systematic review to evaluate the effects of these nutrients on nutritional and clinical outcomes of patients with cystic fibrosis ( CF ) .
This is a systematic review of r and omized clinical trials ( RCTs ) in CF .
Eicosapentaenoic acid in cystic fibrosis: evidence of a pathogenetic role for leukotriene B4
Much of the lung damage that limits the life of young adults with cystic fibrosis is due to proteases and oxygen metabolites generated by neutrophils , which are recruited into the airway by the interaction between Pseudomonas aeruginosa and pulmonary macrophages . Leukotriene B4 ( LTB4 ) has been proposed as a local mediator of this process ; its production is susceptible to specific modulation with dietary eicosapentaenoic acid ( EPA ) . We carried out a placebo-controlled trial of EPA ( 2.7 g daily for 6 weeks ) to assess its effects on markers of clinical state , peripheral neutrophil function , and lung inflammation in sixteen patients with cystic fibrosis colonised with P aeruginosa .  EPA was well tolerated and result ed in a significant reduction in sputum volume ( median change with EPA -10 mL/day , placebo 0 ; p = 0.015 ) , and improvements in Schwachman score ( EPA 5 % , placebo 0 ; p = 0.034 ) , forced expiratory volume in 1 s ( EPA 0.25 L , placebo -0.1 L ; p = 0.006 ) , and vital capacity ( EPA 0.6 L , placebo 0 ; p = 0.011 ) . Relative chemotaxis of circulating neutrophils to LTB4 increased from a subnormal baseline of 4 ( median ; range 0 - 10 ) microns/30 min before treatment , to a near normal value of 11 ( 5 - 18 ) microns/30 min after EPA . Relative chemotaxis to LTB4 of patients taking placebo did not change : the difference in response was highly significant ( p = 0.001 ) . Specific reduction of neutrophil chemotaxis to LTB4 is a sensitive assay of chronic in-vivo exposure to LTB4 . Our results suggest that LTB4 has a pathogenetic role in the lung damage of cystic fibrosis . Longer-term clinical trials of EPA are warranted in a larger number of cystic fibrosis patients
The benefits of antioxidants or DHA/EPA supplementation for CF , although observed in some studies , are not consistent enough to recommend routine use of these supplements .
Antioxidant micronutrients and essential fatty acids supplementation intake appears to have a protective effect in some diseases such as cardiovascular disease , cancer , and asthma .
The aim of this study was to perform a systematic review to evaluate the effects of these nutrients on nutritional and clinical outcomes of patients with cystic fibrosis ( CF ) .
This is a systematic review of r and omized clinical trials ( RCTs ) in CF .