Essential fatty acid deficiency in renal failure: can supplements really help?

Abnormal fatty acid metabolism may contribute to clinical problems such as itching, abnormal perspiration, susceptibility to infection, delayed wound healing, anemia, and increased hemolysis, as seen in patients with chronic renal failure. A double-blind study of patients on hemodialysis who received either fish oil, olive oil, or safflower oil documented that patients may have increased levels of the proinflammatory prostaglandin PGE2 and that fish oil intervention may decrease these levels, change the fatty acid profile, improve hematocrit levels, and improve patient perception of symptoms of pruritus.