Effects of acetylsalicylic acid on platelet aggregation before and during increase in dietary eicosapentaenoic acid.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Small, non-randomized, uncontrolled before-and-after interventional study in healthy volunteers
PubMed 6311694 · doi:10.1159/000214755
What was done
Ten healthy men were evaluated for platelet aggregation responses to collagen and adenosine diphosphate (ADP) following two doses of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA; 3.5 and 10 mg/kg body weight). Platelet aggregation was measured before starting and during a fish diet enriched in eicosapentaenoic acid.
What was found
The abstract reports no exact numerical values or confidence intervals. Both ASA doses (3.5 and 10 mg/kg) produced equal reductions in platelet aggregation to collagen and ADP. Prior to the diet, ASA reduced ADP-induced aggregation to an extent similar to the fish diet alone. When ASA was administered during the fish diet, the inhibitory effect on ADP-induced platelet aggregation was additive, while collagen aggregation decreased to the same extent as during the pre-diet baseline period.
Why it matters
The findings suggest that dietary eicosapentaenoic acid and aspirin inhibit primary hemostasis through distinct mechanisms, suggesting potential additive antithrombotic effects when combining dietary omega-3 intake with aspirin.
Limits
The study evaluated a very small sample (10 healthy men) without a randomized control arm or blinding. It relied exclusively on ex vivo surrogate aggregation assays rather than clinical thrombotic or bleeding endpoints, and no quantitative data or statistical test results were reported in the abstract.
Cited by
- supports High-dose omega-3 supplementation reduces platelet aggregation and lengthens bleeding time to an extent comparable to aspirin.