Effects of dietary supplementation of fish oil on neutrophil and epidermal fatty acids. Modulation of clinical course of psoriatic subjects.

Findings from an eight-week fish oil-supplemented diet given to 13 psoriatic patients demonstrated that eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5,n3 [EPA]) and docosahexaenoic acid (22:6,n3 [DCHA]) are rapidly incorporated into the sera, neutrophils, and epidermis of participating patients, and that the incorporation of EPA and DCHA into epidermal lipids increased with weeks of supplementation with minimal alteration of arachidonic acid (AA) in the epidermal lipids. Global clinical evaluation showed that eight patients demonstrated mild to moderate improvement in their psoriatic lesions. Improved clinical response correlated with high EPA/DCHA ratios attained in epidermal tissue specimens. These findings underscore the need for further investigations into the role of dietary n3 fatty acids, particularly the possibility of pentaenoic acid as a potential protective agent and/or therapeutic adjunct for the clinical management of psoriasis.