Chronic arachidonic acid eicosanoid imbalance: a common feature in coronary artery disease, hypercholesterolemia, cancer and other important diseases. Significance of desaturase enzyme inhibition and of the arachidonic acid desaturase-independent pathway.

A chronic imbalance between the essential fatty acid metabolites arachidonic acid, gamma-linolenic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid and of their respective eicosanoid derivatives appears to be implicated in the etiology of many intractable disease. Most notable among these are coronary artery disease, cancer and chronic inflammation. The factors leading to such an imbalance and their relatively simple prophylactic and therapeutic circumvention are discussed briefly.