Abstract
In epidemiological studies, residents of a fishing village had lower whole blood viscosity and higher red blood cell (RBC) filterability than residents of a farming village. Daily administration of either fish oil concentrate containing 1.4 g EPA or 3.6 g EPA-ethylester (EPA-E) to 7 normal volunteers for 4 weeks resulted in a reduction in whole blood viscosity. EPA-E administration was found to increase RBC-filterability. In clinical studies, we treated 40 male patients suffering from diabetes mellitus (15 patients), hyperlipidemia (12 patients), ischemic heart disease (11 patients) and other diseases (2 patients) with 2.7 g EPA-E for 16 weeks. Whole blood viscosity decreased and RBC-filterability increased in 8–16 weeks. It seems that an increase in EPA content in RBC-membrane increases membrane fluidity, and hence RBC-filterability, on which blood viscosity is partially dependent.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.