title: Evaluation of the relationship between endometriosis and omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids.
abstract: Endometriosis is a common chronic inflammation causing major problems including infertility. The role of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids as their potential anti-inflammatory effects in endometriosis needs to be further explored. The objective of this study was to compare serum phospholipid fatty acid profile in endometriosis patients with controls, and to explore the correlation of this profile with the severity of the disease.
  
  
  
  Sixty-four endometriosis patients and 74 control women, in reproductive age, participated in this study. Among the endometriosis patients, 19 cases were in stage I, 27 cases in stage II, 8 cases in stage III, and 10 cases in stage IV. Each patient underwent laparoscopy. Before surgery, 5 ml of blood was obtained. After extraction of the total lipids, serum total phospholipid fraction was isolated by thin layer chromatography. Fatty acid composition of the phospholipid fraction was determined by gas chromatography and the resulted profile was compared in endometriosis patients and controls. The profile was also compared in the endometriosis group based on the severity of disease.
  
  
  
  Stearic acid was significantly lower in the endometriosis group as compared to controls (P= 0.030). No other fatty acid compositions were significantly different between patients and controls. Serum ratio of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) to arachidonic acid (AA) was in reasonable correlation with the severity of endometriosis (r = 0.34, P = 0.006).
  
  
  
  According to these findings, levels of fatty acids in serum total phospholipids seem not to be a marker for endometriosis, but the EPA to AA ratio was a relevant factor indicating severity of illness.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Biochemistry and Clinical Laboratories, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.|Nano Technology Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Korosh
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Khanaki
authors.affiliation: Women’s Reproductive Health Research Center, Alzahra Hospital, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nouri
authors.affiliation: Reproductive Biotechnology Research Center, 
  Avicenna Research Institute, ACECR, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Ali M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Ardekani
authors.affiliation: Women’s Reproductive Health Research Center, Alzahra Hospital, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Alieh
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ghassemzadeh
authors.affiliation: Women’s Reproductive Health Research Center, Alzahra Hospital, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Vahideh
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Shahnazi
authors.affiliation: Monoclonal Antibody Research Center, Avicenna Research Institute, ACECR, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Sadeghi
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Biochemistry and Clinical Laboratories, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Masoud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Darabi
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Biochemistry and Clinical Laboratories, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Amir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mehdizadeh
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Biochemistry and Clinical Laboratories, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Homayon
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dolatkhah
authors.affiliation: Sarem Cell Research Center (SCRC), Sarem Women's Hosp, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Abotaleb
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saremi
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Ali R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Imani
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Biochemistry and Clinical Laboratories, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.|Faculty of Para Medical sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rahimipour
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016718:Arachidonic Acid / Q000097:blood*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid / Q000097:blood*; D004715:Endometriosis / Q000097:blood*; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000097:blood*; D043371:Fatty Acids, Omega-6 / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation; D018836:Inflammation Mediators; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3; D043371:Fatty Acids, Omega-6; D018836:Inflammation Mediators; D016718:Arachidonic Acid; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid