School of Medicine, European University Cyprus, 6 Diogenous Str., 2404 Nicosia, Cyprus.
Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Jun 27;24(13):10717. doi: 10.3390/ijms241310717.
Neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by neuroinflammation, neuronal depletion and oxidative stress. They coincide with subtle chronic or flaring inflammation, sometimes escalating with infiltrations of the immune system cells in the inflamed parts causing mild to severe or even lethal damage. Thus, neurodegenerative diseases show all features of autoimmune diseases. Prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases has dramatically increased in recent decades and unfortunately, the therapeutic efficacy and safety profile of available drugs is moderate. The beneficial effects of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-3 PUFAs) are nowadays highlighted by a plethora of studies. They play a role in suppression of inflammation, gene expression, cellular membrane fluidity/permeability, immune functionality and intracellular/exocellular signaling. The role of omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as linoleic acid (LA), gamma linolenic acid (GLA), and arachidonic acid (AA), on neuroprotection is controversial, as some of these agents, specifically AA, are proinflammatory, whilst current data suggest that they may have neuroprotective properties as well. This review provides an overview of the existing recent clinical studies with respect to the role of omega-3 and omega-6 PUFAs as therapeutic agents in chronic, inflammatory, autoimmune neurodegenerative diseases as well as the dosages and the period used for testing.
神经退行性疾病的特征是神经炎症、神经元耗竭和氧化应激。它们与微妙的慢性或爆发性炎症同时发生，有时随着免疫系统细胞的浸润而加剧，导致轻度至重度甚至致命的损伤。因此，神经退行性疾病表现出自免疫性疾病的所有特征。近年来，神经退行性疾病的患病率显著增加，不幸的是，现有药物的治疗效果和安全性适中。二十碳五烯酸（EPA）和二十二碳六烯酸（DHA）多不饱和脂肪酸（ω-3PUFAs）的有益作用如今被大量研究强调。它们在抑制炎症、基因表达、细胞膜流动性/通透性、免疫功能和细胞内/细胞外信号转导方面发挥作用。ω-6多不饱和脂肪酸，如亚油酸（LA）、γ-亚麻酸（GLA）和花生四烯酸（AA），对神经保护的作用存在争议，因为这些物质中的一些，特别是 AA，具有促炎作用，而目前的数据表明它们也可能具有神经保护特性。本综述概述了最近关于 ω-3 和 ω-6 PUFAs 作为治疗剂在慢性、炎症性、自身免疫性神经退行性疾病中的作用的临床研究，以及用于测试的剂量和时间。
