We offer Genova Diagnostic Lab's Essential & Metabolic lab test.

Why is this Test Important?

Fatty acids and especially essential fatty acid (EFA)s are the core building blocks of our cell membranes, and so affect all cellular functions and communications.

Fatty acid abnormalities are frequently found in people with chronic inflammatory diseases, auto-immune diseases, heart disease, depression, behavior disorders, such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and senile neurological degeneration. Re-balancing the membrane levels of fatty acids can improve the clinical pictures in these cases.

We know that large amounts of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (AA) are necessary for normal fetal and neonatal neurological and brain development. These fats must come from the mother directly from the placenta or breast milk, which can put an enormous strain on the mother’s reserve supplies. Many complications of pregnancy, such as pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes and post-partum depression, are associated with low levels of DHA, EPA, and AA.

What Does This Test Involve?

A simple blood draw is required since we measure the fats from the phospholipids that compose the actual red blood cell membranes, the gold standard for measuring EFA reserves.

What are the Consequences of Fatty Acid Imbalance?

EFAs are utilized to make “local” hormones, known collectively as eicosanoids, which regulate all inflammation and smooth muscle contraction in the body. Unbalanced levels of EFAs can lead to chronic inflammatory states and can play a major role in the pathophysiology of many diseases including those shown on the table to the right.

Fatty acids were once thought to be nothing more than a stored form of caloric energy. Current research is amassing new evidence that they may be some of the most essential nutrients in the human diet, critical for cell membrane structure and function and for local “hormonal” signaling. The number of diseases whose clinical course can be affected by fatty acid therapy is huge, including inflammatory disorders, cardiovascular disease, hormonal disorders, autoimmune disorders, arthritides, mental and behavioral disorders, and many cases of senile neurological degeneration. Only very recently has laboratory analysis achieved the level of sophistication necessary for healthcare providers to provide precise supplementation based on a patient's biochemical individuality.

Essential fatty acids (EFAs) exercise a powerful influence on overall health because of their pivotal role in how cell membranes function. EFAs are transformed by the body into critical local hormones, called “eicosanoids,” that completely regulate all stages of the process of inflammation, controlling initiation, propagation, and termination of this process that is so vital to the body's ability to repair and to protect itself immunologically. EFAs are not only safe for pregnant and lactating women, but, supplementation of EFAs may reduce the occurrence of many serious complications of pregnancy such as pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes, and post-partum depression.

Many of the chronic inflammatory conditions that accompany an EFA imbalance are currently treated with symptom-specific pharmaceutical drugs such as steroids, Prednisone, aspirin and other NSAIDs, sulfasalazine, and colchicine. The problem with such drug therapies is that they prevent the formation of “good” anti-inflammatory eicosanoids as well as the “bad” pro-inflammatory eicosanoids, or they shift production of one type of eicosanoid to another. For effective, long-term management, eicosanoid production should be modified through dietary changes (balancing dietary intake of specific fats, as indicated by testing) and by controlling insulin levels in the circulation.

Sample Report

Click on the individual pages below to view the sample report, or download the entire report in PDF format (Adobe Acrobat Reader required). (898 KB).

Essential & Fatty Acids Sample Report Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7

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