RE: AstraZeneca buys Omthera! In regards to your comment aj451, long chain omega-3 fatty acids such as DHA and EPA found in Epanova (as well as fish oil) are primarily used clinically to treat high plasma triglyceride (TG) levels. These plasma TG are primarily found in liver-derived VLDL particles. When VLDL-TG are high, an enzyme in the blood called cholesterol ester transfer protein (CETP) transfers TG from VLDL to HDL, and cholesterol ester from HDL to VLDL. TG-enriched HDL are catabolized more rapidly than non-TG-enriched HDL. Thus, patients with high plasma TG often have low plasma HDL cholesterol. Epanova/Fish oil lower VLDL TG through various mechanisms that effectively reduce the secretion from the liver of TG-enriched VLDL. Once these TG-enriched VLDL are normalized, the HDL doesn't become as TG-enriched and instead retains its cholesterol ester, effectively "raising" HDL cholesterol. However, as the CETP inhibitor story told us, it appears that this avenue of raising HDL cholesterol may not result in much increase in net cholesterol efflux from cells.
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Long story short, the RVX-208 mediated mechanism of raising apoAI transcription and increasing new HDL particle formation is a completely different mechanism than any HDL-cholesterol raising effect of omega3 fatty acids/epanova/fish oil. Also, any HDL-cholesterol raising effect of epanova/fish oil might be limited to patients with pre-existing hypertriglyceridemia.