The Influence of Unsaturated Fatty Acids for Atherosclerosis in Recent Years

There have been various discussions of Monounsaturated Fatty Acids (MUFA) and Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFA) for influencing atherosclerosis. MUFA seems to have beneficial effects on the risk of coronary heart disease and atherosclerosis [1], and the authors have reported the marine-derived long-chain MUFA decrease atherosclerosis lesion development and total cholesterol in mouse [2]. On contrast, n-3 PUFA has been studied by GISSI-P trial, which was the Gruppo Italiano Per Lo Studio Della Sopravvivenza Nell’lnfarto Miocardio-Prevenzione (GISSI-P) Trial [3]. It included 11,324 subjects who had myocardial infarction followed up for 3.5 years. Administration of n-3 PUFA significantly lowered the risk of primary endpoint by 10%, suggesting beneficial effect statistically. Consecutive study showed the clinical effects for death, combined death, stroke and non-fatal myocardial infarction. Furthermore, it attributed the reduced risk of the events for overall by 20%, cardiovascular by 30%, and sudden death by 45% [4].