n-3 Polynsatured fatty acids and the patient at high cardiovascular risk with co-morbidities: a pleiotropic drug.

Polynsatured fatty acids (PUFAs) are organic acids, essential for mammals, whose deficiency is associated with different disesaes. On the basis of currently available evidence, the American Heart Association (AHA) has recommended that all adults eat fish at least twice a week, as well as vegetables containing plant-derived n-3 fatty acids. The AHA also suggests that patients with documentated coronary heart disease consume approximately 1 g of iecosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) per day, from oily fish or fish oil capsules. However, recent evidence broadens their potential application to many other health disorders directly or indirectictly associated with cardiovascular disesase risk such as rheumatological diseases, mood depression, chronic kidney disease, chronic inflammtory lung diseases and others. These effects seem to be largely dependent on the dosages employed and on the characteristics of the selected patients. The cardiometabolic effects of PUFAs have been largely reviewed elsewhere, so the aim of our review is to point out the potential usefulness of such drugs with pleiotropic effects in the management of the actual typical aging patient, with co-morbidities and multidrug therapies.