Fatty acid composition of phospholipids from platelets and erythrocytes in multiple sclerosis

Relationship between plasma and lymphocyte linoleate in multiple sclerosis

The linoleate level in total lipids was measured in lymphocytes from control subjects and patients with multiple sclerosis. A small but significant decrease was found in cases of multiple sclerosis. The percentage composition of lymphocyte fatty acids was determined in rats fed diets with various linoleate contents. There was a correlation between lymphocyte linoleate and plasma linoleate in both humans and rats.

Inhibitory effect of unsaturated fatty acids on lymphocyte-antigen interaction with special reference to multiple sclerosis

Using the macrophage electrophoretic mobility (MEM) test, the in vitro effects of oleic, linoleic and arachidonic acid, as well as Naudicell oil and methyl gamma-linolenate, on lymphocyte response to various antigens (PPD, thyroid antigen and EF) were studied in patients with mutiple sclerosis, patients with other neurological diseases, and in normal subjects. In all three groups, linoleic and arachidonic acid showed a significant inhibition; the latter was greater than the former, when tested at physiological concentrations, suggesting that unsaturated fatty acids may exert an immunoregulatory effect in vivo. The methylester of gamma-linolenate is the most powerful suppressing agent yet tested. The inhibitory activity of linoleic and arachidonic acids was consistently greater in MS than in other subjects and forms the basis of an in vitro test for the disease. The possible relationship of these findings to widespread alterations in the fatty acid composition of the tissues and to the pathogenesis of MS is discussed.

Linoleate and fatty-acid patterns of serum lipids in multiple sclerosis and other diseases

The linoleic acid content of serum lipids was measured in 47 patients with multiple sclerosis, 29 patients with other neurological diseases, 35 patients with acute non-neurological illnesses, and 49 healthy control subjects. Reduced linoleic acid content of serum lipids was not specific to multiple sclerosis and occurred in all ill patients with acute non-neurological illness. The fatty-acid pattern of serum lipids in illness resembles that of essential fatty-acid deficiency. It seems that this pattern of reduced linoleic acid content with increased oleic, palmitic, and palmitoleic acid content may be a general phenomenon in ill patients.

Specific laboratory test for diagnosis of multiple sclerosis

Lymphocytes from patients with multiple sclerosis are much more susceptible to the inhibitory activity of linoleic acid (0.08 mg/ml) when tested for sensitization to thyroid by the macrophage electrophoretic mobility test (91% inhibition) than are those from normal subjects (57% inhibition). Cells from patients with a variety of other neurological diseases give 47% inhibition with linoleic acid. These differences are specific for multiple sclerosis and can be used as an in-vitro diagnostic test for the disease. Nearly 43% of clinically normal near relatives of patients with multiple sclerosis show an "anomalous" figure of about 77%; in the remainder the figure is the same as in the general population (57%). An anomalous result is compatible with lifelong freedom from M.S. Possibly a congenital anomalous handling of unsaturated fatty acids is a constant feature of the disease.

Dietary intake of linoleic acid in multiple sclerosis and other diseases

The linoleic acid intake of patients with multiple sclerosis is not significantly different from that of healthy control subjects. This is true both in absolute terms and when linoleic acid intake is expressed as a percentage of total fat intake. In the other categories of illness, included as control groups, linoleic acid intake was significantly decreased only in patients with acute non-neurological illness and in this case only when considered in absolute terms. In all groups studied the daily linoleic acid intake was in excess of 1·7% of the total calorie intake and in the case of multiple sclerosis was 2·7% of the total calories ingested. Since other workers have shown that linoleic acid absorption is not altered in multiple sclerosis and we have shown that the diet is not deficient, it seems that the decrease in linoleic acid content is due to some process occurring after the absorption of this essential fatty acid.

Double-blind trial of linoleate supplementation of the diet in multiple sclerosis

Seventy-five patients in London and Belfast with multiple sclerosis were given daily supplements of a vegetable oil mixture containing either linoleate or oleate for two years in a double-blind control trial. Relapses tended to be less frequent and were significantly less severe and of shorter duration in the linoleate-supplemented group than in those receiving the oleate mixture, but clear evidence that treatment affected the overall rate of clinical deterioration was not obtained.

Linoleate metabolism in multiple sclerosis

(1) The levels of oleate and linoleate in the serum have been measured in 14 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and in 14 healthy subjects before, during and after a five day period when the normal diet was supplemented with linoleate. (2) In confirmation of earlier work the mean percentage of linoleate in the serum lipids of the MS patients was significantly lower (P < 0·01) than in the control subjects in the pre-supplementation period. The mean percentage of oleate showed an increase (P < 0·005) in the patients as compared with the controls while on their normal diets. (3) The period of linoleate feeding produced a considerable rise in the percentage of linoleate together with a fall in the percentage of oleate in both the controls and the MS patients. (4) When large amounts of linoleate, as present in sunflower seed oil, are ingested we have been unable to obtain evidence of a defect in absorption from the intestinal lumen.