Doctors Get Under Skin of Acne Patients to Find Better Treatment
To defeat an enemy, you must first understand it, or so the saying goes. And for nearly every teenager and young adult, acne is a formidable foe, causing damage to their
Doctors Get Under Skin of Acne Patients to Find Better Treatment
To defeat an enemy, you must first understand it, or so the saying goes. And for nearly every teenager and young adult, acne is a formidable foe, causing damage to their skin and their self-image that can leave long-lasting physical and emotional scars.
But University of Michigan researchers are working to defeat acne by understanding it better on a molecular level, and testing new ideas about how to treat it. They’ve enlisted armies of volunteers in their efforts to explore acne’s roots in the cells and chemicals under the surface of the skin, and to try new combinations of pills, creams and other potential therapies. And they need more recruits to continue the fight.
The U-M research builds on what’s already known about acne from years of study. And new science is also helping to dispel old myths about what causes the most common skin condition in the country. Acne affects about 80 percent of people between the ages of 11 and 30, some 40 to 50 million individuals.
Sewon Kang, M.D., the dermatologist who helps lead the U-M Health System’s acne research and other skin studies, notes that acne is still a mysterious enemy. “The cause of acne still remains unknown, but what we do know about it is that when you look at the types of spots that make up acne, in the plugged pores or pimples and the red bumps, there seems to be involvement of what we call inflammatory cells,” he says. “And there seems to be an increase in the oil production in the skin, which patients often feel on their skin.” Bacteria called Propionibacterium acnes also appear to play a role, thriving in the tiny pits, or follicles, where acne pimples start.
Stress may also be a factor in acne, says Kang. “We often find college students around the time of midterms and final exam period have more problems with acne flare-ups,” he says. Since science is increasingly proving that mental stress can produce physical effects throughout the body, the connection seems plausible, he adds. Hormone changes, like the ones that come with puberty and with a woman’s menstrual cycle, also act as acne triggers. But one thing that researchers agree doesn’t cause acne is poor hygiene — getting pimples has nothing to do with being “dirty.”
They’re also skeptical of claims that certain foods — chocolate, pizza, french fries — can trigger acne, though Kang notes it can’t hurt for individuals to avoid foods they associate with their pimples.
To get at the root cause of acne, research in the U-M Department of Dermatology looks at inflammation on a sub-microscopic level, studying the molecules that attract the inflammatory cells that make the skin red and bumpy. Kang and his colleagues also probe the effect that acne has on the skin’s inner structure and repair mechanisms.
Depending on how severe a person’s acne is, the damage done during a flare-up can overwhelm the skin’s ability to heal itself. And the inflammation itself attracts molecules that break down the collagen that makes skin firm and smooth. In severe cases, the result can be scars that give the skin a pitted look for the rest of a person’s life.
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