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Subjective Improvement in Patients with Psoriatic Arthritis
After Short-Term Oral Treatment with Seal Oil. A Pilot Study with Double
Blind Comparison to Soy Oil
TOR MAGNE MADLAND, TORMOD BJÖRKKJÆR, LINN ANNE BRUNBORG, LIVAR FRÖYLAND, ARNOLD BERSTAD, and JOHAN G. BRUN
ABSTRACT. Methods. Forty-three patients with polyarticular PsA were randomized to receive oral treatment for 2 weeks with either seal oil or soy oil in a double blind controlled trial. Clinical and biochemical variables were assessed at baseline, after treatment, and 4 weeks post-treatment. Patients were allowed to continue nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAID) and disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARD) during the study. Results. Forty patients completed the study, 20 in each treatment group. Patients in the seal oil group reported a significant improvement in global assessment of the disease 4 weeks post- treatment (p < 0.01), and both groups showed a trend toward improvement in tender joint count, but the differences between the groups were not significant. There was a fall in the ratio of n-6 to n-3 fatty acids and in arachidonic acid (AA) to eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) in serum after treatment with seal oil (p < 0.01). Twenty-one percent of all patients had elevated values of calprotectin in feces suggestive of asymptomatic colitis. Conclusion. Treatment with seal oil was followed by a modest improvement in patient's global assessment of the disease and a trend towards a decrease in number of tender joints. There was a shift in fatty acid composition in serum toward a putative antiinflammatory profile. Oral treatment with seal oil may have NSAID-like effects in PsA. (J Rheumatol 2006;33:307-10) Key Indexing Terms:
PSORIATIC ARTHRITIS
From the Sections for Rheumatology and Gastroenterology, Institute of Medicine, University of Bergen; the National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood Research (NIFES); and the Department of Rheumatology, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway. Supported by grants from The Foundation of Astri and Edvard Riisøen. Rieber Skinn A/S supplied free samples of seal oil. T.M. Madland, MD; J.G. Brun, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Section for Rheumatology, Institute of Medicine, University of Bergen and Department of Rheumatology, Haukeland University Hospital; T. Björkkjær, MSc, NIFES and Department of Biomedicine, University of Bergen; L.A. Brunborg, MSc; L. Fröyland, PhD, Professor, NIFES; A. Berstad, MD, PhD, Professor, Institute of Medicine, Section for Gastroenterology, University of Bergen. Address reprint requests to Dr. T.M. Madland, Section for Rheumatology, Haukeland University Hospital, N-5021 Bergen, Norway. E-mail: tor.madland@helse-bergen.no Accepted for publication September 19, 2005.
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