N-3 fatty acid supplementation decreases plasma homocysteine in diabetic dyslipidemia treated with statin–fibrate combination

Abstract The aim of this study was to study the effect of adding polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) n-3 or placebo (containing oleic acid) to a combined statin–fibrate treatment on plasma lipoproteins, lipoperoxidation, glucose homeostasis, total homocysteine (tHcy) and microalbuminuria (MA) in patients with diabetic dyslipidemia (DDL). Twenty-four patients, who did not fulfill the recommended target lipid values with combined hypolipidemic therapy (pravastatin 20 mg+micronized fenofibrate 200 mg daily), were supplemented with 3.6 g PUFA n-3 daily for 3 months or placebo (olive oil) for the next 3 months. The concentrations of plasma lipids, fatty acid (FA) profiles of phosphatidylcholine (PC), cholesteryl esters (CE) and triglycerides (TG), tHcy levels, concentrations of conjugated dienes (CD) in low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and MA were determined in baseline state, after the PUFA n-3 and placebo treatment period. Supplementation with PUFA n-3 led to a significant decrease in plasma tHcy (−29%, P P P r =−.509, P ≤.05) and docosahexaenoic acid ( r =−.52, P P