Dietary marine lipids that are enriched in omega-3, or n-3, fatty acids reduce the severity of autoimmune glomerulonephritis in several inbred murine strains.
The protective effect of dietary n-3 fatty acids is also seen with a rat model of immune-complex induced vasculopathy, but no protective effects were seen with autoimmune vasculitis in the MRL/lpr mouse or with type II collagen-induced arthritis in rats.
Dietary n-3 fatty acids are potential therapeutic agents for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, but careful clinical trials with the purified forms of n-3 fatty acids are needed to determine the usefulness of this intervention.
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