For people interested in this topic, I'd recommend going to the source...one of the first lay published information on the subject was by Dr. Sears.

Over a decade ago when I found this information, it was still only on research studies for the most part. Doctors were totally clueless (and many still are) about EFA chemistry. They were prescribing NSAIDs commonly then, and did not even know how they worked, in relation to EFA chemistries.

In the book, Enter the Zone, there are two chemistry chapters. A friend of mine was given this book recommendation by her sleep apnea doctor... and she did not understand any of it so gave it to me to interpret for her. One of the chapters is complex, in detail. The second one is more general language for the layman. I was very piqued by this book, and decided to look for confirmation. Lo and behold I found Dr. Rudin's book published earlier at our library! His focuses on psychiatric use of EFAs in medicine. Since then, he has a new edition out.
This is his newer edition:
http://www.amazon.com/Omega-3-Oils-P...5910034&sr=8-7

He explains the subject well also. Armed with both experts, I then went on the net (which was new to us, with our first computer, back in the late 90's) and found the studies on PubMed. Dr. Simopoulous MD also wrote a book... which I bought that was based on her research and various papers.

http://www.amazon.com/Omega-Diet-Lif.../dp/0060930233

So when I refer to this subject I go back to the experts. I have found many many discussions and websites on EFAs over the last decade, and because of the extremely complex nature of the subject some information is reported on those sites in slightly different formats from the original work.

To this day many doctors do not know or understand anything about this chemistry. They prescribe the drugs that interfere with it, cause terrible side effects, and do no counsel their patients on how to balance their lifestyle to minimize those effects. Steroids are a prime example, of a drug family that skews the chemistry. When the Cox-2 inhibitors hit the market this lack of understanding was taken advantage of by the Big Pharma who KNEW heart effects were possible and concealed this from doctors. That was the center of the controversy!
Cox-2 prostaglandins are inflammatory molecules... but NOT ALL OF THEM ARE. One which is produced by the kidney is a potent vasodilator necessary to maintaining vascular tone. When it is blocked (prostacyclin) arteries clamp down, and lead to heart attacks/stroke in some people. This was the Vioxx controversy leading to the removal of Vioxx and from sale in US. It illustrates the misuse and blatant ignoring of the chemistry to make billions of dollars. And illustrates that even the doctors fell for it all! Pfizer paid over a Billion dollars in fines for misleading Bextra promotion:
http://money.cnn.com/2009/09/02/news...cnnw/index.htm

I long for the day when doctors are trained properly in how the body really works, so that when drugs come out, the can use them skillfully and help people rather than the reverse.