People with kidney failure who undergo hemodialysis have for many years faced a very high risk of diseases affecting the heart and blood vessels.
This is partly because the body is heavily burdened by both the kidney disease itself and the treatment.
Researchers have therefore long tried to find treatments that can reduce the risk of conditions such as heart attacks, strokes, and cardiac death. Many clinical trials have not produced the desired effect.
According to researchers from Monash University, this is precisely why new results in the field are attracting particular attention.
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At the same time, researchers have observed that people on dialysis often have lower levels of certain fatty acids than the rest of the population.
This has led researchers to investigate whether nutrition could play a role in the risk of heart problems.
A large international study
This question was examined in an international study called PISCES, which was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
A total of 1,228 people undergoing hemodialysis from 26 hospitals in Australia and Canada participated in the study.
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The study was led in part by researchers from Monash Health and Monash University in Australia, as well as researchers from the University Health Network in Toronto and the University of Calgary in Canada.
A result that stands out
In the study, some participants received a daily dietary supplement, while others received a placebo. The researchers then examined how many experienced serious cardiovascular events.
The results showed that people undergoing hemodialysis who took four grams of fish oil daily containing the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA had a 43 percent lower risk of serious cardiovascular events compared with participants in the placebo group.
These events included heart attacks, strokes, cardiac death, and amputations caused by vascular disease.
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According to the researchers, the result is remarkable because few treatments have previously shown a clear reduction in heart risk among this group of patients.
Sources: Science Daily, and New England Journal of Medicine.
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