title: Effect of n-3 fatty acid ratio and dose on clinical manifestations, plasma fatty acids and inflammatory mediators in dogs with pruritus.
abstract: The use of n-3 fatty acids is often recommended to manage pruritus. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of various doses of n-3 fatty acids at different n-6:n-3 ratios on plasma fatty acids, clinical response and inflammatory mediators in pruritic dogs. After baseline assessment, dogs were randomly assigned to receive diets varying in both total n-3 and n-6 fatty acid dose and n-6:n-3 ratio. The total clinical score decreased significantly in all four diet groups after 8 weeks with no difference between groups. Plasma fatty acid changes generally mirrored the fatty acid content of the test diets, although alterations appeared to depend on both the dose of n-3 fatty acids and the n-6:n-3 ratio. In this clinical trial, which controlled dietary intake of fatty acids, n-3 fatty acid supplementation did not appear to have an added benefit on clinical signs over thorough clinical management.
authors.affiliation: Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine, North Grafton, Massachusetts, USA. gnesbitt@earthlink.net
authors.forename: Gene H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Nesbitt
authors.forename: Lisa M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Freeman
authors.forename: Steven S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Hannah
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D004285:Dogs; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D011537:Pruritus / Q000178:diet therapy / Q000662:veterinary*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D005227:Fatty Acids; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid