**6. Atherogenic dyslipidemia**

Many evidences suggest a strong link between PsO and abnormalities in fatty acid metabolism: psoriatic patients show dyslipidemia with increased plasma cholesterol, triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol, and decreased HDL cholesterol and antioxidant capacity. In particular, a recent study has underlined that the dyslipidemic profile could precede the psoriasis manifestations (Gottlieb A et al, 2008).

Studies on lipid profile in psoriatic patients have been conducted since 1994 focusing on the presence of a significant content in total cholesterol and of the cholesterol/protein ratio in low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and in high-density lipoproteins (HDL) of psoriatic children. The compositional changes were associated with alterations of fluidity in LDL and HDL of psoriatic patients (Offidani AM et al, 1994).

In PsO patients, the detection of raised levels of LDL and low levels of HDL cholesterol is associated with coronary artery disease and with accelerated mortality for cardiovascular disease (Jones SM et al, 2000).
