Acne Rosacea
There’s some fascinating new data out of Japan linking acne rosacea to a mite that lives on the surface of the skin called Demodex. It seems as though patient suffering from adult-onset acne rosacea have a higher per cm2 population of these mites as compared to age-matched controls. Moreover, anti-mite therapies (previously reserved mostly for tropical skin conditions) have now re-emerged as a central therapy for this very common condition.
Acne Vulgaris
There’s an increasing body of literature on the implications of diet on acne. We’re way behind Eastern Medicine in recognizing this trend, but trying hard to catch up. Earlier myths like chocolate and greasy foods have been upheld as unproven, but high glycemic index foods (processed sugars, corn syrup – even pastas) have been repeatedly linked to adult-onset acne. I had a patient just yesterday who rid herself of adult-onset acne just by dropping gluten from her diet…without a single prescription from me! That doesn’t work for everyone, by any means, but it is an interesting lead that our profession is following closely.
