title: Icosapent ethyl, a pure EPA omega-3 fatty acid: effects on plasma and red blood cell fatty acids in patients with very high triglyceride levels (results from the MARINE study).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Icosapent ethyl (IPE) is a high-purity prescription form of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) ethyl ester. We evaluated IPE's effects on plasma and red blood cell (RBC) fatty acids (FA) and the relationship to triglyceride (TG) lowering.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a predefined, exploratory analysis (N=229) of FA plasma concentration and RBC membrane content from the double-blind, placebo-controlled MARINE study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean placebo-adjusted plasma EPA levels increased from baseline by 792% and 402% and the arachidonic acid/EPA plasma ratio decreased from baseline by 99% and 88% with IPE 4 g/day and 2 g/day, respectively (all P<.0001). Overall, the fractional pool of omega-3 FAs increased; there was a decrease or no change for omega-6 FAs. The increase in EPA levels with increased IPE dose corresponded with the TG-lowering effect. Similar FA shifts were observed in RBCs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  IPE significantly increased plasma and RBC FAs, which correlated to TG lowering.
authors.affiliation: Amarin Pharma Inc., Bedminster, NJ 07921, USA. Electronic address: RMan@oopla.net.
authors.forename: Rene A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Braeckman
authors.forename: Mehar S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Manku
authors.forename: Harold E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Bays
authors.forename: William G
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Stirtan
authors.forename: Paresh N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Soni
mesh_terms: D016718:Arachidonic Acid / Q000097:blood*; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015228:Hypertriglyceridemia / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy; D000960:Hypolipidemic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D000960:Hypolipidemic Agents; D014280:Triglycerides; D016718:Arachidonic Acid; C035276:eicosapentaenoic acid ethyl ester; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid
keywords: Eicosapentaenoic acid; Fatty acids; Hypertriglyceridemia; Icosapent ethyl; Omega-3 fatty acids; Polyunsaturated fatty acids; Triglycerides