Beneficial effects of fish oil and cranberry juice on disease activity and inflammatory biomarkers in people with rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVES: We sought to determine whether cranberry juice consumption would ameliorate laboratory and clinical measurements of disease activity in people with rheumatoid arthritis receiving fish oil supplementation. METHODS: A prospective study was performed with 62 people with rheumatoid arthritis. We analyzed C-reactive protein modification of the Disease Activity Score-28 (DAS28-CRP) and inflammatory markers. The first group was assigned to eat their typical diet, a second group was asked to consume 3 g of fish oil ω-3 fatty acids daily, and a third group received both 3 g of fish oil n-3 fatty acids and 500 mL of reduced-calorie cranberry juice daily. RESULTS: Compared with baseline values, the group receiving both fish oil and cranberry juice showed reductions in erythrocyte sedimentation rate (P = 0.033), C-reactive protein (P = 0.002), DAS28-CRP (P = 0.001), adiponectin (P = 0.021), and interleukin-6 levels (P = 0.045), whereas the fish oil group showed decreased DAS28-CRP (P = 0.0261) and adiponectin (P = 0.0239). Differences across treatments showed that the group receiving both fish oil and cranberry experienced reductions (P < 0.05) in erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein compared to the control group and the group treated with fish oil alone, and a reduction in DAS28-CRP was verified when the fish oil and cranberry group was compared to the control group. CONCLUSIONS: The ingestion of cranberry juice adds beneficial effects to fish oil supplementation, decreasing disease activity and inflammatory biomarkers in people with rheumatoid arthritis.

Evaluation of oxidative stress in overweight subjects with or without metabolic syndrome.

Although oxidative stress is considered the underlying mechanism by which dysfunctional metabolism occurs in obese subjects, there are few studies on oxidative stress in overweight subjects. The objective of this study was to verify the influence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) on oxidative stress and antioxidant defense in overweight subjects. There were 123 subjects (50 in the control group and 73 in the overweight group) chosen to participate in this cross-sectional study. The control group included 50 healthy individuals with a BMI between 20 and 24.9 kg/m(2) and without MetS. The overweight group included 73 subjects with a BMI between 25 and 29.9 kg/m(2). Overweight subjects were divided into two groups: with MetS (29 subjects) and without MetS (44 subjects). Control group and overweight group subjects without MetS showed no differences in oxidative stress parameters and total antioxidant capacity (TRAP). Overweight subjects with MetS had higher hydroperoxide concentrations measured by chemiluminescence compared to the control group (P < 0.05), higher hydroperoxide and hydrogen peroxide concentrations determined by ferrous oxidation-xylenol orange assay compared to overweight subjects without MetS (P < 0.001), and higher advanced oxidation protein product (AOPP) concentrations (P < 0.001) compared to the other groups. AOPP was directly correlated with uric acid concentrations. Overweight subjects with MetS had lower TRAP concentrations compared to the control group (P < 0.001). In conclusion, this study showed that overweight subjects with MetS, in contrast to overweight subjects without MetS, have a redox imbalance characterized by increased plasma oxidation and reduced antioxidant capacity.