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Clinical Nutrition

Effects of two therapeutic dietary regimens on primary chylomicronemia in paediatric age: a retrospective data analysis

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 70, pages 1127–1131 (2016)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background/Objective:

Subjects suffering from lipoprotein lipase (LPL) deficiency show very severe hypertriglyceridemia, often accompanied by recurrent bouts of pancreatitis. Dietary intervention is currently considered first-line treatment of this condition in paediatric age. The aim of our study was to compare the effects of dietary treatment with a low-fat diet alone and a low-fat diet enriched with omega-3-fatty acids.

Subjects/Methods:

The data of 11 patients with LPL deficiency who were diagnosed in our lipid clinic between October 1997 and October 2007 were summarised. All patients had been treated with a low-fat diet, and in addition a group of five patients received supplements of omega-3-fatty acids over a period of at least 5 months.

Results:

After adjustment for pre-intervention TG concentration, there was a statistically significant difference in post-intervention TG concentrations between the interventions, F(1,8)=13.529, P=0.006, partial η2=0.628. Post-intervention-adjusted TG concentrations were statistically significantly greater in the low-fat diet group vs the w3 diet group (P <0.05).

Conclusions:

We provide first evidence that a low-fat diet supplemented with omega-3-fatty acids results in a pronounced decrease in TG in paediatric patients affected with LPL deficiency. However, further studies are necessary to evaluate the long-term effects and safety of omega-3-fatty acids.

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Acknowledgements

We express our sincere gratitude to Maria Fritsch MD for her invaluable help in summarizing the data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Austrian Academic Institute for Clinical Nutrition, Vienna, Austria

    O Helk & K Widhalm

  2. Institute of Molecular Biosciences, University of Graz, Graz, Austria

    R Schreiber

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  1. O Helk
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Correspondence to K Widhalm.

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Helk, O., Schreiber, R. & Widhalm, K. Effects of two therapeutic dietary regimens on primary chylomicronemia in paediatric age: a retrospective data analysis. Eur J Clin Nutr 70, 1127–1131 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2016.70

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