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The participants were all assessed to be at a high risk of cardiovascular disease and all had high triglyceride levels. They were also receiving Statins to reduce cholesterol. Each of them received Omega 3 of either 2 gr or 4 gr a day or a placebo. The results revealed that those taking the 4 grams a day of EPA fish oil saw an average reduction of triglyceride levels of 22 percent/had the biggest reduction of triglyceride levels. These results came from the ANCHOR trial, which was a trial sponsored by Amarin, the company which is developing AMR101 a highly purified form of EPA fish oil.The Anchor trial involved individuals with an average age of 61 and an average BMI of 33. Approximately 73 percent had diabetes, 30 percent were on a "high" efficacy statin regimen, 68 percent were on a "medium" efficacy regimen and 7 percent were on a "low" efficacy regimen. The results revealed that those who had the highest triglyceride levels at baseline and who were on the high efficacy regimen experienced the biggest reductions in triglyceride levels. The real health benefits from a reduction in triglyceride levels won't be clear until the results come in from a longer study that is only just starting said Professor Christie Ballantyne from the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Professor Ballantyne also suggested at the annual scientific sessions of the American Heart Association that he thinks the chances of fish oil working are higher than other treatments but acknowledged that no one has conducted a trial specifically on patients with elevated triglyceride levels. Amarin is soon to start the clinical end point trial REDUCE IT (Reduction of Cardiovascular Events with EPA Intervention Trial) which will continue for about 6 years. This trial will involve approximately 8,000 peopl with high triglyceride levels. The results of this study will offer a clearer indication of the benefits of EPA fish oil for reducing cardiac events. Another study conducted previously known as the JELIS study (Japan EPA Lipid Intervention Study), involving over 19,000 people some with and some free from heart disease but with high cholesterol levels revealed that those who took statins along with omega 3 had less of a risk of experiencing a major heart event than those who were taking statins alone. Although the JELIS trial didn't concentrate specifically on patients with high triglyceride levels, but on those with high cholesterol levels, the results did indicate that omega 3 had a protective effect on coronary events. Just over 9,000 of those in the JELIS study received a purified form of EPA which was similar to ARM101 along with statins and the remainder just had their statins alone. After a follow up nearly 5 years later, those who were taking both statins and EPA had a reduced incidence of experiencing a major coronary event when compared to those taking just statins. There is no hard evidence that elevated triglyceride levels actually increases the risk of coronary events and the JELIS study is to date the only documented evidence that EPA fish oil reduces the risk of coronary events. The about to commence REDUCE IT trial will no doubt reveal more. Amarin announced earlier this year that it has filed an application with the FDA for marketing approval for AMR101, for treating high triglyceride levels largely because of the ANCHOR trial and a similar trial known as the MARINE trial (Multicenter Placebo Controlled Randomised Double Blind 12 week study with an open label extension trial). The MARINE trial involved over two hundred individuals with elevated triglyceride levels who were given a 4 gram dose or a 2 gram dose a day of AMR101 or a placebo. The results of this research revealed that after a quarter of a year there was a noteable reduction in triglyceride levels when taking fish oil. According to Professor Ballantyne, who says he already offers EPA fish oil to some of his patients, numerous studies over many years have shown fish oil to be well tolerated and safe to use with very few adverse effects.
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