Trial Report High-dose Omega-3 Alters Serum Magnesium & Calcium Levels and Affects Fibromyalgia Symptoms: Randomized,Double-blind,Placebo-Control Study,2024,Fattah

https://www.benthamdirect.com/content/journals/crr/10.2174/0115733971314334240930043717

High-dose Omega-3 Alters Serum Magnesium and Calcium Levels and Affects Fibromyalgia Symptoms: A Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-Control Study

Authors: Maha A. Abdel Fattah1, Shereen Morsi2, Shaimaa A. Fattah3, Nermeen A.moneim11,2,3 and Marwa G. Tawfik1

• Affiliations:1 Department of Physical Medicine, Rheumatology and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt ;2 Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt ;3 Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Suez Canal University, 41522Ismailia, Egypt

Source: Current Rheumatology Reviews

• Available online: 20 September 2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2174/0115733971314334240930043717

• Received: 04 Mar 2024
• Accepted: 06 Aug 2024
• Available online: 20 Sep 2024

Abstract

Objective
The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of a high oral dose of omega-3 on serum magnesium (Mg) and calcium (Ca) levels and their effects on clinical measures of pain threshold.

Methods
One hundred twenty patients were recruited and randomized 1:1 to omega-3 or placebo and blinded to their treatment group. At baseline and after 8 weeks of treatment, the Widespread Pain Index (WPI), the Symptom Severity Scale (SSS), the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), and the FM Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) were completed. In addition, serum was taken for Ca and Mg analysis at the same time point.

Results
The WPI, SSS, VAS, and FIQ scores improved significantly in the omega-3 group compared to the placebo group (P < 0.001). Serum Ca levels correlated negatively with WPI (r = - 0.308), SSS (r = -0.28), VAS (r = -0.311), and FIQ (r= -0.348) scores (P < 0.001) after 8 weeks of treatment. Serum Mg levels were negatively correlated with SSS (r = -0.212) and VAS (r = -0.231) scores after 8 weeks of treatment. The difference between serum Ca levels before and after 8 weeks of omega-3 treatment and serum Mg levels increased significantly compared to 8 weeks of placebo treatment.

Conclusion
The results of this study showed that a high dose of omega-3 could have a positive effect on the relief of FM pain, which could be due to an increase in serum Mg and Ca levels.

 

They authors had to pay $1100 to publish their report. Is that the norm or would the publishing company be considered suspect.

Do the r levels cited mean anything much?

They don't mention monitoring the diet of the partipants, I will assume so. The publisher charges a whopping $95 for a PDF of the report (which isn't in final form yet).

I've never found that magnesium changes anything in my FM pain except increase in diarrhea.
Calcium no bearing whatsoever (within normal blood chemistry norms).

It takes a much bigger wallop such as a drug that depresses nerves to dampen FM pain.

 

Current Rheumatology Reviews sounds like a junk journal. A lot of journals charge huge fees for publishing these days though.

The strangest thing is that CRR is supposed to be a review journal (they are usually pretty bad) but this is a data paper. Which suggests that it may have been rejected by standard journals.