Two sides of the same coin: NEO-PUFAs in Rett syndrome and post-infarction cardiac arrhythmias†

An imbalance between oxidants and antioxidants that favors the oxidants leads to a disruption of the redox signaling control and/or molecular damage. The action of the oxidants in a non-enzymatic process generates isoprostanoids from polyunsaturated fatty acids. In this review, we will focus on the effects of ω3-polyunsaturated fatty acids in two different pathogeneses related to chronic and acute oxidative stress, one in neurodevelopmental, also known as the Rett syndrome, and the second in myocardial infarction and cardiac arrhythmias respectively. We hypothesize that ω3-polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation displays antioxidant properties under a high oxidative stress situation, as in the Rett Syndrome, as well as protective properties of isoprostanoids from polyunsaturated fatty acids in pro-arrhythmic conditions. Practical Applications In this review, we highlighted the role of omega 3- polyunsaturated fatty acids in 2 distinct pathologies where oxidative stress is elevated (in the Rett syndrome as an anti-oxidant molecule and in cardiac arrhythmias as messenger with biologic properties). The physiological relevance of these data open new unexplored pathways in integrative mechanism and thus potential new "non-drug" applications.