Introduction: This study was performed to evaluate the effects of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation on inflammatory cytokines and advanced glycation end products (AGEs) in patients with diabetic nephropathy (DN).
Materials and methods: This randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial was done on 60 patients with DN who were randomly divided into 2 groups to receive either 1000 mg/d of omega-3 fatty acid from flaxseed oil (n = 30) or placebo (n = 30) for 12 weeks. The primary outcome variables were tumor necrosis factor-α, receptor tumor necrosis factor-α and growth differentiation factor 15. Fasting blood samples were taken at the onset and the end of the study to quantify the related markers.
Results: Compared with the placebo, omega-3 fatty acid supplementation resulted in a significant decrease in serum AGEs (-2.3 ± 2.8 AU versus 0.2 ± 2.5 AU, P = .001). Despite a significant reduction in serum level of receptor for AGEs (-0.1 ± 0.3 AU, P = .02) in the omega-3 fatty acid group, no significant difference was found between the two groups in terms of their effects on the receptor for AGEs. Supplementation with omega-3 fatty acid had no significant effect on the inflammatory cytokines as compared with the placebo.
Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that omega-3 fatty acid supplementation among DN patients had favorable effects on AGEs and the receptor for AGEs.