Psoriasis is a disease caused by the immune system, in which the immune system sends out faulty signals to skin cells causing them to rapidly accumulate.  The areas on the body where these cells accumulate get a silvery-white appearance of plaque over red inflamed skin.  Psoriasis is a chronic disease, so even after successful treatment, it’s apt to come back at any time.  In addition, 10-15% of people diagnosed with psoriasis also tend to develop arthritic psoriasis, causing joint pains.

One of the effects of Omega 3 EPA is that it acts as an anti-inflammatory agent.  Thus, there is speculation that it can help offset the symptoms caused by psoriasis.  A study conducted in Europe during the late 1990′s in which fish oil was delivered by intravenous into the blood stream showed a 50% improvement in patients diagnosed with severe psoriasis in contrast with patients who didn’t receive it.

In another study, Etretinate was taken in conjunction with Omega 3 EPA.  Etretinate is a drug used to treat psoriasis, but was taken off the shelves in the late 1990′s because the recommended dose causes dangerous side effects.  Around the same time, researchers from Shiga University in Japan found that if Etretinate is taken in conjunction with EPA, the same results could be obtained with a 50-70% reduced Etretinate dosage.

Finally, a third study in Argentina actually showed that topically applying EPA rich oil also alleviated symptoms when applied directly to inflamed skin.