The DOI matches its Crossref record; 148 of the 150 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Insulin-Sensitizing Effects of Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Lost in Translation?
Open accessAbstract
Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) of marine origin, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), have been long studied for their therapeutic potential in the context of type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, and glucose homeostasis. Glaring discordance between observations in animal and human studies precludes, to date, any practical application of n-3 PUFA as nutritional therapeutics against insulin resistance in humans. Our objective in this review is to summarize current knowledge and provide an up-to-date commentary on the therapeutic value of EPA and DHA supplementation for improving insulin sensitivity in humans. We also sought to discuss potential mechanisms of n-3 PUFA action in target tissues, in specific skeletal muscle, based on our recent work, as well as in liver and adipose tissue. We conducted a literature search to include all preclinical and clinical studies performed within the last two years and to comment on representative studies published earlier. Recent studies support a growing consensus that there are beneficial effects of n-3 PUFA on insulin sensitivity in rodents. Observational studies in humans are encouraging, however, the vast majority of human intervention studies fail to demonstrate the benefit of n-3 PUFA in type 2 diabetes or insulin-resistant non-diabetic people. Nevertheless, there are still several unanswered questions regarding the potential impact of n-3 PUFA on metabolic function in humans.
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“On the contrary, omega-3 PUFAs have been reported to improve skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity by modulating mitochondrial function.”
From Mitochondrial (Dys)function and Insulin Resistance: From Pathophysiological Molecular Mechanisms to the Impact of Diet (2019) · cites this paper as Lalia and Lanza, 2016
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Metadata
- Authors
- Lalia, A., & Lanza, I.
- Affiliations
- Mayo Clinic (US)
- Corresponding author
- Lanza, Ian
- ORCID
- Lanza, Ian
- Venue
- Nutrients
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2016-06-01
- Volume
- 8
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 329
- ISSN
- 2072-6643 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC4924170
- OpenAlex
- W2414466164
- Cited by
- 141
- References
- 150
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 21 · 2020: 26 · 2019: 18 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 3
- FWCI
- 2.02
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Nutrients (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- Georgia Clinical and Translational Science Alliance
- National Institutes of Health (KL2TR000136)
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Fatty Acid Research and Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Diet, Metabolism, and Disease
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Nutritional Studies and Diet
- Keywords
- omega-3 fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid, docosahexaenoic acid, insulin sensitivity, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, glucose homeostasis, dietary supplementation, skeletal muscle, liver, adipose tissue, translational gap
- MeSH terms
- Aging, Animals, Energy Intake, Glucose, Humans, Insulin Resistance, Fatty Acids, Omega-3
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