Omega -3 Fatty Acids May Be Effective Against Psoriasis, Some Studies Show

By Kyle J. Norton

Psoriasis is a skin condition characterized by the speeds up of the life cycle of skin cells, leading to cells build up rapidly on the surface of the skin.

Symptoms of psoriasis caused by the extra skin cells form scales and red patches can be itchy and painful.

Epidemiologically, psoriasis patches can range from a few spots or large areas. A most common form of psoriasis is plaque psoriasis, a condition that induces dry, raised, red skin lesions (plaques) covered with silvery scales.

The causes of psoriasis are not identified, however, researchers believed that genetic proposition exacerbated by certain factors such as weather, injury, illness, or stress are some of the most causative factors that induce the onset of the condition.

Certain risk factors such as family history, viral and bacterial infections, weakened immune systems, persistent stress, are associated with the risk of psoriasis.

Other risk factors associated with psoriasis may include skin injury that did not heal properly, people who are obese and side effects of long term use of certain medicines such as oral steroids.

Some researchers suggested smoking that has a strong impact on the immune system may also be one of the major causes of psoriasis in smokers.

Conventionally, topical corticosteroids are the most commonly prescribed medication for the treatment fo the condition, particularly in patients with mild to moderate psoriasis.

According to the joint study led by the University of Trieste, the increased incidence of a large number of diseases that share an inflammatory origin probably due to the pro-inflammatory cytokine spillover from active psoriatic lesions, leading to a large inflammation on distant tissues(95).

Additionally, the Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, Boston joint study suggested, individuals with psoriasis have increased blood levels of uric acid. In the documented 2217 incident cases of gout during follow-up. Psoriasis was associated with an increased risk of subsequent gout with a multivariate HR of 1.71

Omega-3 fatty acids are phytochemicals in the class of lipids, found abundantly in deepsea fisk, dark-green leafy vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts, etc.

The three main components of Omega-3 fatty acids are alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).

On finding a potential phytochemical for the treatment of skin diseases, researchers examined the efficacy and mechanism of action of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) on psoriasis.

The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials that search the databases of the PubMed/MEDLINE and EMBASE all randomized controlled trials and prospective observational studies compared the 3 PUFAs effects versus control in adult patients with psoriasis.

Out of 12 articles identified in a total of 732 articles that were searched, some studies found that n-3 PUFAs were associated with improvements in the PASI score, erythema, scaling, itching, an area involved and infiltration.

However, some studies did not find a reduction in scaling, erythema, area involved or thickness in the treatment group.

Based on the findings researchers said, "It is still inconclusive whether the use of n-3 PUFAs in patients with psoriasis is associated with improvements in the severity of psoriasis and other outcomes".

Taken altogether, Omega-3 fatty acids found abundantly in fish oil and plant oil may be considered a functional food for the prevention and treatment of psoriasis, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Intake of Omega-3 fatty acids in the form of supplements should be taken with extreme care to prevent overdose acute liver toxicity.


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Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299.

Sources
(1) Effect of omega-3 fatty acids on disease severity in patients with psoriasis: A systematic review by Upala S1,2, Yong WC1, Theparee T3, Sanguankeo A. (PubMed)
(2) Efficacy of ω-3 supplementation in patients with psoriasis: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials by Clark CCT1, Taghizadeh M2, Nahavandi M2, Jafarnejad S. (PubMed)
(3) Increased airway inflammation in patients with psoriasis by Damiani G1, Radaeli A2, Olivini A2, Calvara-Pinton P3, Malerba M2. (PubMed)

(4) Psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis and risk of gout in US men and women by Merola JF1, Wu S2, Han J3, Choi HK4, Qureshi AA5.(PubMed)