Curing intravenous omega-3 fatty acids in elderly patients hospitalized in intensive care due to COVID-19 appears to have positive effects on the immune system’s ability to cope with the virus, according to a study by the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. In the future, the study, published in the journal Clinical and Translational Medicine, could lead to a complementary and cost-effective remedy for COVID-19.
In COVID-19 patients, as a result of infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the immune formula and white blood cell activation through the framework are overactivated. This can lead to a so-called formulaic inflammatory storm, which worsens the disease state and can lead to headaches such as sepsis and central insufficiency.
Researchers at the Karolinska Institutet, among others, have now shown that omega-3 fatty acids can stimulate active healing inflammation, without inhibiting the immune response. By accelerating the healing of inflammation without compromising the body’s immune system, it would possibly be conceivable to counteract the maximum severe headaches of COVID-19, according to the researchers.
The study was conducted in 2020, at an early stage of the pandemic, when no vaccine was available. The study involved 22 hospitalized patients with elderly COVID-19, some of whom were randomly assigned to intravenous treatment with omega-3 fatty acids for five days. and the other part to the intravenous management of the corresponding volumes of saline.
The effect of the remedy was discovered by mapping inflammatory biomarkers and immunological reactions.
First, we showed that the metabolism of fatty acids into inflammation-curing molecules was stimulated in patients treated with omega-3 fatty acids. By isolating the immune cells before and after treatment, we were able to show that immune function improved. “
The biochemical analyses were carried out in collaboration with Craig Wheelock’s organization at the Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet.
Researchers are now planning larger clinical studies, which will be needed to show whether the course of disease in severe cases of COVID-19 is accelerated by treatment with omega-3 fatty acids.
“It is vital that even our weakest and most fragile patients have the opportunity to participate in studies when the enemy, in this case, COVID-19, is on the attack and that they can fight the disease with the help of the drug. “says Dorota Religa, senior representative and professor of geriatrics in the Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society. Karolinska Institutet.
“Stimulating the healing of inflammation with omega-3 fatty acids has the potential to lead to a new, low-risk, cost-effective remedy for COVID-19, in addition to the existing remedy,” says Magnus Bäck.
The study was funded through the Masonic Foundation of King Gustaf V and Queen Victoria. No conflicts of interest or industry sponsors were reported.
Karolinska Institute
Arnardottir, H. , et al. (2022) Intravenous immunomodulation of omega-3 fatty acids in elderly subjects hospitalized with COVID-19: a single-blind randomized trial. Clinical and translationnelle. doi. org/10. 1002/ctm2. 895 medicine.
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