Fish oil supplementation results in decreased hypertriglyceridemia in patients with psoriasis undergoing etretinate or acitretin therapy

British Association of Dermatologists guidelines on the efficacy and use of acitretin in dermatology

“…99 In addition, HDL levels have been found to be decreased in about 40% of patients taking acitretin. 100 The LDL ⁄HDL ratio (atherogenic index) has been directly correlated to the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, and therefore fasting lipids should be regularly checked in all patients receiving treatment with acitretin. Increases of serum triglycerides to levels associated with pancreatitis are not common, although one case of fatal fulminant pancreatitis has been reported.…”

“…A high fish oil diet was found effective in partially reducing hypertriglyceridaemia and increasing HDL cholesterol in patients treated with etretinate and acitretin. 100 Gemfibrozil taken orally is also effective, if required. 101 Hypertriglyceridaemia is likely to occur in patients with predisposing factors such as diabetes mellitus, obesity, increased alcohol intake, or a family history of these conditions.…”

Lipid Disturbances in Psoriasis: An Update

“…Retinoids have the most potent activity on increasing the levels of triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and VLDL cholesterol and simultaneously decreasing the HDL fraction [137–140]. There are some reports that the diet enriched with fish oil can reduce side effects of these drugs [157, 158]. Cyclosporin has milder effects on the lipid profile, but it can also lead to some abnormalities for example TG elevation [159].…”

Fish Oil and Fenofibrate for the Treatment of Hypertriglyceridemia in HIV-Infected Subjects on Antiretroviral Therapy

“…The effectiveness of fish oil in lowering TG levels has a clear dose response relation, as demonstrated by Harris et al 33 In addition, fish oil has been shown to have efficacy in lowering TGs in subjects with drug-induced (retinoids) hypertriglyceridemia. 34 We demonstrated that fish oil and fenofibrate alone could produce significant decreases in TG levels; however, few patients on either therapy achieved TG levels lower than the NCEP target of #200 mg/dL. Of note, most of our subjects were male and these results may not be generalizable to a female population, although we are unaware of any data that suggest a difference based on gender.…”