Eicosapentaenoic acid improves insulin sensitivity and blood sugar in overweight type 2 diabetes mellitus patients: a double-blind randomised clinical trial

<p><b>INTRODUCTION</b>Diabetes mellitus is the most common metabolic disorder in humans, and its incidence is increasing rapidly worldwide. Although polyunsaturated fatty acids have beneficial effects on diabetes mellitus, previous data regarding the possible positive effects of n-3 fatty acids on glycaemic indices were inconclusive. We conducted a double-blind randomised clinical trial to determine the effects of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), an n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid, on overweight patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>This double-blind, placebo-controlled randomised clinical trial was conducted on a total of 67 overweight patients with T2DM for a duration of three months. Of these 67 patients, 32 received 2 g purified EPA daily, while 35 received a placebo of 2 g corn oil daily. The patients' fasting plasma glucose (FPG), serum insulin, glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and insulin sensitivity indices were assessed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>After three months of EPA supplementation, the group that received EPA showed significant decreases in FPG (p < 0.001), HbA1c (p = 0.01) and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (p = 0.032), when compared to the placebo group. EPA supplementation resulted in decreased serum insulin levels, with the levels between the EPA and placebo groups showing a significant difference (p = 0.004).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The results of our study indicate that EPA supplementation could improve insulin sensitivity. It was able to decrease serum insulin, FPG, HbA1c and HOMA-IR. EPA could have beneficial effects on glycaemic indices in patients with T2DM.</p>

Thyroid autoantibodies in euthyroid women with recurrent abortions and infertility

Evidences suggest an association between the prevalence of thyroid peroxidase [anti-TPO] and anti thyroglobulin [anti-Tg] with recurrent abortions and infertility. Iodine deficiency was once endemic in Iran and little data is available about the prevalence of these antibodies in different groups of fertile or infertile individuals. This case control study was designed to compare the presence of anti-TPO and anti-Tg in four groups of women to reveal their role in the etiology of recurrent abortion and infertility. Four groups of euthyroid women referring to Avicenna Infertility Clinic in Tehran were selected; 95 cases as fertile controls and 70, 78 and 137 cases with male and female factor infertility and recurrent abortion respectively. TSH, anti-TPO and anti-Tg were evaluated by chemiluminescent immunoassay. The prevalence of the above mentioned autoantibodies in euthyroid controls was about 25% and the percentage of people with an anti-Tg >500 was two times bigger in the abortion group compared to the control group [p<0.05] and the proportion of people with an anti-Tg>500 in younger cases in the abortion group was significantly higher than the rest of the cases [p<0.05]. Anti-TPO distribution had no significant differences. There were no statistically significant differences among four groups. It seems that more comprehensive studies are needed to reach a common conclusion about thyroid autoantibodies in women with recurrent abortions in different groups and different parts of Iran. In addition, dividing the recurrent abortion and infertility groups on the basis of their etiologies could be effective