title: Different Serum Free Fatty Acid Profiles in NAFLD Subjects and Healthy Controls after Oral Fat Load.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Free fatty acid (FFA) metabolism can impact on metabolic conditions, such as obesity and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This work studied the increase in total FFA shown in NAFLD subjects to possibly characterize which fatty acids significantly accounted for the whole increase.
  
  
  METHODS
  21 patients with NAFLD were selected according to specified criteria. The control group consisted of nine healthy subjects. All subjects underwent an oral standard fat load. Triglycerides; cholesterol; FFA; glucose and insulin were measured every 2 h with the determination of fatty acid composition of FFA.
  
  
  RESULTS
  higher serum FFA levels in NAFLD subjects are mainly due to levels of oleic, palmitic and linoleic acids at different times. Significant increases were shown for docosahexaenoic acid, linolenic acid, eicosatrienoic acid, and arachidonic acid, although this was just on one occasion. In the postprandial phase, homeostatic model assessment HOMA index positively correlated with the ω3/ω6 ratio in NAFLD patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  the higher serum levels of FFA in NAFLD subjects are mainly due to levels of oleic and palmitic acids which are the most abundant circulating free fatty acids. This is almost exactly corresponded with significant increases in linoleic acid. An imbalance in the n-3/n-6 fatty acids ratio could modulate postprandial responses with more pronounced effects in insulin-resistant subjects, such as NAFLD patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, C.so Dogliotti 14, 10126 Torino, Italy. roberto.gambino@unito.it.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gambino
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, C.so Dogliotti 14, 10126 Torino, Italy. elisabetta.bugianesi@unito.it.
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bugianesi
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, C.so Dogliotti 14, 10126 Torino, Italy. crosso3@cittadellasalute.to.it.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rosso
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, C.so Dogliotti 14, 10126 Torino, Italy. lavinia.mezzabotta@unito.it.
authors.forename: Lavinia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mezzabotta
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, C.so Dogliotti 14, 10126 Torino, Italy. silvia.pinach@unito.it.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pinach
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, C.so Dogliotti 14, 10126 Torino, Italy. natalina.alemanno@unito.it.
authors.forename: Natalina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Alemanno
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, C.so Dogliotti 14, 10126 Torino, Italy. francescasaba85@yahoo.it.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Saba
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, C.so Dogliotti 14, 10126 Torino, Italy. maurizio.cassader@unito.it.
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cassader
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D003124:Colorimetry; D059305:Diet, High-Fat; D005230:Fatty Acids, Nonesterified / Q000097:blood*; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000032:analysis; D043371:Fatty Acids, Omega-6 / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D065626:Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology*; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D005230:Fatty Acids, Nonesterified; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3; D043371:Fatty Acids, Omega-6; D007328:Insulin; D014280:Triglycerides; D002784:Cholesterol
keywords: free fatty acids; insulin resistance; nonalcoholic fatty liver disease