title: Oral eicosapentaenoic acid for acute colonic graft-versus-host disease after bone marrow transplantation.
abstract: We investigated whether pretreatment with eicosapentaenoic acid, an inhibitor of leukotriene (LT) B4, could ameliorate acute colonic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after bone marrow transplantation (BMT). Seventeen patients undergoing unrelated BMT were divided into two groups, with eight patients receiving eicosapentaenoic acid and nine not receiving it. The grade of GVHD after transplantation was compared with that estimated from the pretransplantation LTB4 level. The levels of LTB4 and several cytokines were also monitored. The actual grade of GVHD was lower than that estimated from LTB4 levels in three of the eight patients from the treated group, and there was a significant difference between the treated and untreated groups (p < 0.05, chi 2 test). The levels of LTB4, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) were all significantly lower in the treated group (p < 0.05, Student's t-test). These findings suggest that eicosapentaenoic acid may ameliorate acute colonic GVHD when administered from before BMT.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Internal Medicine, Hyogo College of Medicine, 1-1 Mukogawa-cho, Nishinimiya, Hyogo 663-8501, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takatsuka
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takemoto
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wakae
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Okada
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Iwata
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okamoto
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kanamaru
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kakishita
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000284:Administration, Oral; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003092:Colitis / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006086:Graft vs Host Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007975:Leukotriene B4 / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male
chemical_list: D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated; D007975:Leukotriene B4; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid