Adipose tissue essential fatty acid composition in patients with atopic eczema

We have measured adipose tissue total lipid and plasma phospholipid essential fatty acid composition by capillary column gas chromatography in patients with atopic eczema. In both adipose tissue and plasma phospholipids there was a significant elevation of linoleic acid in patients compared to a control group (adipose tissue P less than 0.05; plasma P less than 0.001), and a substantially higher ratio of linoleic acid to the sum of its longer chain highly unsaturated derived fatty acids, dihomogamma linolenic acid and arachidonic acid. These findings add support to the proposition that patients with atopic eczema have a defect in the conversion of linoleic acid.