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JACI Highlights - December 2003
Fish oil supplementation in pregnancy modifies neonatal allergen-specific immune responses and clinical outcomes in infants at high risk of atopy: a randomised controlled trial
With the dramatic increase in allergic disease in recent years, there is an urgent need to identify the environmental changes which may be responsible, and to find safe strategies to prevent these diseases developing in the first place. One significant change that has occurred with progressive westernisation has been falling intakes of anti-inflammatory omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) in the diet. There has therefore been growing interest in the possible benefits of dietary n-3 PUFA replacement in the prevention of allergic diseases. Because allergic diseases develop in infancy, this kind of dietary prevention clearly needs to be started very early in life. To address this issue, Dunstan et al (Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, December, 2003) recently examined the effects of n-3 PUFA-rich fish oils in pregnancy on the developing infant immune responses. They found that babies whose mothers who were given fish oil supplements during pregnancy (from 20 weeks gestation) had significantly higher n-3 PUFA levels in their cells. In turn, higher n-3 PUFA levels were associated with reduced infant immune responses to allergens such as cat and house dust mite. The fish oil s well tolerated and there were no adverse effects on the infants. Although this study was not designed to look at effects on allergic symptoms, it was noted that babies whose mothers received fish oil were three times less likely to develop allergies to foods (such as egg), and had less severe infantile eczema (dermatitis) in the first year of life. These observations are of great interest, and highlight the need for further larger studies to specifically examine the possible benefits of n-3 PUFA fish oils in reducing the risk of developing allergic disease, particularly in families where allergies are common.
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