Dear Dr. Sears,
Q: Last year my wife had a liver transplant (due to having polycystic liver disease) and is recovering well. However, she also has long-standing polycystic kidney disease too. I read somewhere recently that fish oil capsules can protect the kidneys against the effects of the anti-rejection medications that she will be on for the rest of her life; therefore, I would like to know your opinions on this, as it seems a good idea for her to take fish oil capsules if they will be beneficial to her. I hasten to add that we would not begin a course of the fish oil capsules without consulting her specialist, but any advice you can give us will help.
A: The two primary anti-rejection drugs are cyclosporine and FK506. Both depress the immune system so that it doesn’t attack the transplanted organ. Adding extra fish oil will be useful to reduce an overactive immune response, as well as reducing the side effects of these drugs (cyclosporine in particular). I would recommend about 5 grams of EPA and DHA per day.