Favorable effects of fish oil concentrate on risk factors for thrombosis in renal allograft recipients.

Abstract

The incidence of thromboembolic complications in renal allograft recipients is very high. Since fish oil has antithrombotic properties, we administered 18 capsules of fish oil concentrate (1.5 g of eicosapentaenoic acid, EPA, and 0.7 g of docosahexaenoic acid) per day to 14 renal allograft recipients for 6 months. Another group of recipients served as controls. In the treated group the levels of EPA and docosahexaenoic acid in erythrocyte membrane lipids increased significantly after the fish oil treatment. Red blood cell filterability significantly increased in the treated group compared with the case of the control group. Epinephrine-induced platelet aggregation increased significantly in the control group, and this change was significantly different from that of the treated group (almost a null change). At the end of the study, the ratio of the main urinary metabolite of prostacyclin I2/3 to the metabolite of thromboxane A2/3 was significantly higher in the treated group than in the control group. In conclusion, we suggest that fish oil concentrate may favorably affect risk factors for thromboembolic complications in renal allograft recipients.