Fish Oil & Cod Liver Oil (EPA & DHA)
Supportive Interactions
13- Support Medicine
Fish Oil
Atorvastatin
In a preliminary trial, taking an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor (“statin”) for about three years significantly lowered triglyceride levels and raised levels of HDL (“good”) cholesterol in people with high cholesterol who had also been supplementing with either 900 mg or 1,800 mg of EPA for three months. The authors of the study concluded that the combination of the statin and EPA may prevent coronary heart disease better than the drug alone. Since drugs in the statin family have similar mechanisms of action, people taking any statin drug may benefit from fish oil.
AtorvastatinFish Oil- Nakamura N, Hamazaki T, Ohta M, et al. Joint effects of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors and eicosapentaenoic acids on serum lipid profile and plasma fatty acid concentrations in patients with hyperlipidemia. Int J Clin Lab Res 1999;29:22-5.
- Support Medicine
Fish Oil
Citalopram
In patients with major depression, the addition of the omega-3 fatty acids present in fish oil (1.8 g per day of eicosapentaenoic acid and 0.4 g per day of docosahexaenoic acid, in 2 divided amounts per day for 8 weeks) enhanced the antidepressant effect of citalopram.CitalopramFish Oil- Gertsik L, Poland RE, Bresee C, Rapaport MH. Omega-3 fatty acid augmentation of citalopram treatment for patients with major depressive disorder. J Clin Psychopharmacol 2012 Feb;32:61.
- Support Medicine
Fish Oil
Fluvastatin
In a preliminary trial, taking an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor (“statin”) for about three years significantly lowered triglyceride levels and raised levels of HDL (“good”) cholesterol in people with high cholesterol who had also been supplementing with either 900 mg or 1,800 mg of EPA for three months. The authors of the study concluded that the combination of the statin and EPA may prevent coronary heart disease better than the drug alone. Since drugs in the statin family have similar mechanisms of action, people taking any statin drug may benefit from fish oil.
FluvastatinFish Oil- Nakamura N, Hamazaki T, Ohta M, et al. Joint effects of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors and eicosapentaenoic acids on serum lipid profile and plasma fatty acid concentrations in patients with hyperlipidemia. Int J Clin Lab Res 1999;29:22-5.
- Support Medicine
Fish Oil
Lovastatin
In a preliminary trial, taking an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor (“statin”) for about three years significantly lowered triglyceride levels and raised levels of HDL (“good”) cholesterol in people with high cholesterol who had also been supplementing with either 900 mg or 1,800 mg of EPA for three months. The authors of the study concluded that the combination of the statin and EPA may prevent coronary heart disease better than the drug alone. Since drugs in the statin family have similar mechanisms of action, people taking any statin drug may benefit from fish oil.
LovastatinFish Oil- Nakamura N, Hamazaki T, Ohta M, et al. Joint effects of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors and eicosapentaenoic acids on serum lipid profile and plasma fatty acid concentrations in patients with hyperlipidemia. Int J Clin Lab Res 1999;29:22-5.
- Support Medicine
Fish Oil
Pravastatin
In a preliminary trial, taking an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor (“statin”) for about three years significantly lowered triglyceride levels and raised levels of HDL (“good”) cholesterol in people with high cholesterol who had also been supplementing with either 900 mg or 1,800 mg of EPA for three months. The authors of the study concluded that the combination of the statin and EPA may prevent coronary heart disease better than the drug alone. Since drugs in the statin family have similar mechanisms of action, people taking any statin drug may benefit from fish oil.
PravastatinFish Oil- Nakamura N, Hamazaki T, Ohta M, et al. Joint effects of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors and eicosapentaenoic acids on serum lipid profile and plasma fatty acid concentrations in patients with hyperlipidemia. Int J Clin Lab Res 1999;29:22-5.
- Support Medicine
Fish Oil
Rosuvastatin
In a preliminary trial, taking an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor (“statin”) for about three years significantly lowered triglyceride levels and raised levels of HDL (“good”) cholesterol in people with high cholesterol who had also been supplementing with either 900 mg or 1,800 mg of EPA for three months. The authors of the study concluded that the combination of the statin and EPA may prevent coronary heart disease better than the drug alone. Since drugs in the statin family have similar mechanisms of action, people taking any statin drug may benefit from fish oil.
RosuvastatinFish Oil- Nakamura N, Hamazaki T, Ohta M, et al. Joint effects of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors and eicosapentaenoic acids on serum lipid profile and plasma fatty acid concentrations in patients with hyperlipidemia. Int J Clin Lab Res 1999;29:22-5.
- Support Medicine
Fish Oil
Simvastatin
In a preliminary trial, taking an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor (“statin”) for about three years significantly lowered triglyceride levels and raised levels of HDL (“good”) cholesterol in people with high cholesterol who had also been supplementing with either 900 mg or 1,800 mg of EPA for three months. The authors of the study concluded that the combination of the statin and EPA may prevent coronary heart disease better than the drug alone. Since drugs in the statin family have similar mechanisms of action, people taking any statin drug may benefit from fish oil.
SimvastatinFish Oil- Nakamura N, Hamazaki T, Ohta M, et al. Joint effects of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors and eicosapentaenoic acids on serum lipid profile and plasma fatty acid concentrations in patients with hyperlipidemia. Int J Clin Lab Res 1999;29:22-5.
- Reduce Side Effects
Fish Oil
Interferon Alfa-2a
Depression is one of the common side effects of interferon-alpha. In a double-blind trial, supplementing with eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), a fatty acid present in fish oil, significantly decreased the incidence of depression in patients taking interferon-alpha for hepatitis C. The amount of EPA used was 3.5 g per day for 2 weeks prior to the start of interferon-alpha therapy, and then discontinued during interferon-alpha treatment. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), another fatty acid in fish oil, was not effective for preventing interferon-alpha-induced depression.Interferon Alfa-2aFish Oil- Su KP, Lai HC, Yang HT, et al. Omega-3 fatty acids in the prevention of interferon-alpha-induced depression: results from a randomized, controlled trial. Biol Psychiatry 2014;76:559–66.
- Reduce Side Effects
Fish Oil
Interferon Alfa-2B
Depression is one of the common side effects of interferon-alpha. In a double-blind trial, supplementing with eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), a fatty acid present in fish oil, significantly decreased the incidence of depression in patients taking interferon-alpha for hepatitis C. The amount of EPA used was 3.5 g per day for 2 weeks prior to the start of interferon-alpha therapy, and then discontinued during interferon-alpha treatment. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), another fatty acid in fish oil, was not effective for preventing interferon-alpha-induced depression.Interferon Alfa-2BFish Oil- Su KP, Lai HC, Yang HT, et al. Omega-3 fatty acids in the prevention of interferon-alpha-induced depression: results from a randomized, controlled trial. Biol Psychiatry 2014;76:559–66.
- Reduce Side Effects
Fish Oil
Interferon Alfacon-1
Depression is one of the common side effects of interferon-alpha. In a double-blind trial, supplementing with eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), a fatty acid present in fish oil, significantly decreased the incidence of depression in patients taking interferon-alpha for hepatitis C. The amount of EPA used was 3.5 g per day for 2 weeks prior to the start of interferon-alpha therapy, and then discontinued during interferon-alpha treatment. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), another fatty acid in fish oil, was not effective for preventing interferon-alpha-induced depression.Interferon Alfacon-1Fish Oil- Su KP, Lai HC, Yang HT, et al. Omega-3 fatty acids in the prevention of interferon-alpha-induced depression: results from a randomized, controlled trial. Biol Psychiatry 2014;76:559–66.
- Reduce Side Effects
Fish Oil
Interferon Alfa-n3
Depression is one of the common side effects of interferon-alpha. In a double-blind trial, supplementing with eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), a fatty acid present in fish oil, significantly decreased the incidence of depression in patients taking interferon-alpha for hepatitis C. The amount of EPA used was 3.5 g per day for 2 weeks prior to the start of interferon-alpha therapy, and then discontinued during interferon-alpha treatment. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), another fatty acid in fish oil, was not effective for preventing interferon-alpha-induced depression.Interferon Alfa-n3Fish Oil- Su KP, Lai HC, Yang HT, et al. Omega-3 fatty acids in the prevention of interferon-alpha-induced depression: results from a randomized, controlled trial. Biol Psychiatry 2014;76:559–66.
- Reduce Side Effects
Fish Oil
Paclitaxel
In a double-blind study, supplementing with the omega-3 fatty acids present in fish oil decreased the incidence of drug-induced nerve damage (peripheral neuropathy) in women receiving paclitaxel for breast cancer. The amounts used were 540 mg of DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and 100 mg of EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid), each three times per day.PaclitaxelFish Oil- Ghoreishi Z, Esfahani A, Djazayeri A, et al. Omega-3 fatty acids are protective against paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy: a randomized double-blind placebo controlled trial. BMC Cancer 2012;12:355.
- Reduce Side Effects
Fish Oil
Ribavirin
Anemia is one of the side effects of ribavirin therapy. In a preliminary trial, supplementing with EPA partially prevented the decline in hemoglobin levels in patients with hepatitis C who were being treated with the combination of ribavirin and pegylated interferon alpha-2b.RibavirinFish Oil- Suzuki M, Inage E, Minowa K, et al. Prophylaxis for ribavirin-related anemia using eicosapentaenoic acid in chronic hepatitis C patients. Pediatr Int 2012;54:528-31.