ORGANISING COMMITTEE
AND PANEL MEMBERS: • Andrew J. Sinclair, Ph.D., Workshop Chair, RMIT University, Melbourne,
Victoria, Australia
• Christine Albert, M.D., M.P.H., Brigham and Women's Hospital and
Harvard University Medical School, Cambridge, MA, U.S.A.
• William S. Harris, Ph.D., Mid America Heart Institute and University
of Missouri-Kansas City, U.S.A.
• Clemens von Schacky, M.D., Medizinische Klinik, Klinikum Innenstadt,
University of Munich, Germany
• Christine Williams, Ph.D., School of Food Biosciences, University
of Reading, U.K. Ex Officio Members
• Philip Calder, Professor,
Institute of Human Nutrition, University of Southampton, U.K
• Robert Katz, Ph.D., Omega-3
Research Institute, Inc. Bethesda, Maryland, U.S.A. Additional Panel Members:
• Robert G. Ackman, Ph.D.,
Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
• William E.M. Lands, Ph.D.,
Rockville, Maryland, U.S.A.
• Trevor A. Mori, Ph.D.
University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia;
• Arthur Spector, M.D.,
University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, U.S.A.
• Parveen Yaqoob, Ph.D.,
University of Reading, U.K. Additional Speakers:
• Luigi Mondello, Ph.D.
University of Messina, Italy
• Jonathan Curtis, Ph.D.
Ocean Nutrition Canada, Bedford, Nova Scotia, Canada
• Norman Salem, Jr., Ph.D.,
NIAAA, NIH, Rockville, Maryland, U.S.A. OBJECTIVES OF THE
WORKSHOP ON ASSESSING CHD RISKS WITH PUFA BIOMARKERS: 1. To present to a scientific panel and an audience of
involved professionals a series of PUFA-based biomarkers
for assessing
an individual's risk
of developing coronary heart disease (CHD) or dying from
sudden cardiac death (SCD).
2. To evaluate the preventive or therapeutic value of the
presented biomarkers and to assess their appropriateness
for broad-scale
use by cardiologists and other medical practitioners to
predict the probability
of an individual's risk of SCD, onset of CHD and/or occurrence
of a major, non-fatal coronary event.
3. To develop and recommend guidelines for lowering the
risk of death from CHD with n-3 LC PUFA supplementation.
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Justification and
Timing of the workshop on Assessing Coronary Heart Disease Risks
With PUFA Biomarkers:
There is heightened interest in the potential risk-reducing effects
of long-chain (LC) omega-3 (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA)
in coronary heart disease (CHD). For example, the Office of Dietary
Supplements of the National Institutes of Health, U.S.A. is in
the process of performing an evidence-based review of the role
of Omega-3 PUFA in CHD. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is
evaluating the physiological role of omega-3 PUFA in reducing risk
of CHD. The role of n-3 long chain (LC) PUFAs eicosapentaenoic
acid (EPA) plus docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) as anti-hypertriglyceridemic
agents has been established. Similarly, there is emerging clinical
evidence for positive, elevating effects of n-3 LC PUFA supplementation
on HDL levels, on increasing particle size and therefore diminishing
atherosclerotic effects of remnant lipoproteins and very low density
lipoproteins, on reducing blood pressure and on their capacity
to reduce the risk of lethal coronary fibrillations.
During the
past few months, a new PUFA biomarker has been developed for the
assessment of risk-reduction in CHD. The red blood cell
(RBC) membrane Omega-3 Index or simply the Omega-3 Index assesses
the total EPA+DHA content of RBC membrane as % of total fatty acids
in the membrane. This biomarker provides ranges for an individual's
risks of SCD and therefore CHD and proposes high, intermediate
and low risk ranges by delineating highest risk range as <4%
EPA+DHA, the intermediate risk range as 4-8 EPA+DHA% and the lowest
risk range as 8-10% EPA+DHA. Thus, carefully raising a person's
RBC Omega-3 Index value from 2% to about 10% EPA+DHA could lower
the person's risk of SCD by about 50%. The RBC Omega-3 Index was
developed by Drs. William S. Harris and Clemens von Schacky.
Given
the above and that over the years the n-6/n-3 ratio as well as
other LC PUFA ratios e.g., EPA : cholesterol have been promoted
as a measure of CHD risk reduction, it is both timely and justified
to present, discuss and evaluate all these markers as relevant
and immediately utilizable in predicting the physiological outcomes
of CHD and the lethal pathology that could ensue when omega-3
levels are low. Therefore, the objective of this workshop is to
evaluate
the evidence and recommend valid markers for assessing the risk
of developing CHD or dying from it. Such markers could enable
the cardiologist or other physician to prescribe the appropriate
therapeutic
intervention, i.e. supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids.
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