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Acne mystery cleared up, study says

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wdlove

wdlove

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Oct 20, 2002
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Genome of bacteria deciphered, pointing way to treatment

By Carolyn Johnson, Globe Correspondent *|* July 30, 2004

"Unsightly acne pimples are the product of hardy bacteria that are genetically programmed to degrade human skin, according to a study published today.

Researchers deciphered the genome of the bacteria primarily responsible for acne. The finding, published in today's issue of the journal Science, brings researchers a step closer to understanding why acne strikes some people and not others, and how to most effectively treat it."

Finding the cause will be a real boost to patients that are suffering. It's like finding that there is a bacteria that causes stomach ulcers.
 
Acne can have many different causes. I have finally been 'cured' of my acne after over 4 years of treatment. I went through so many different types of medications and creams I lost count. It was 6 months on Accutane that finally did it. The reason that there so many different type of treatment is because there are so many different causes. Sometimes it's caused by not cleaning well enough. Sometimes it's skin that is too dry. Sometimes it's skin that's too oily. Sometimes it's genetic. Sometimes it's bacteria. This medication may solve the bacteria based acne, but it is not a cure-all for acne sufferers.
 
stoid said:
Acne can have many different causes. I have finally been 'cured' of my acne after over 4 years of treatment. I went through so many different types of medications and creams I lost count. It was 6 months on Accutane that finally did it. The reason that there so many different type of treatment is because there are so many different causes. Sometimes it's caused by not cleaning well enough. Sometimes it's skin that is too dry. Sometimes it's skin that's too oily. Sometimes it's genetic. Sometimes it's bacteria. This medication may solve the bacteria based acne, but it is not a cure-all for acne sufferers.
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Acne is always bacterial in origin. Hygeine, oil, dryness, and genetics may make it easier or harder for the bacteria to establish themselves and multiply, but bacteria are always involved. Some people just have better resistance to the bacteria than others. If they can determine exactly why some people are naturally more resistant, then perhaps this can be used to help those that are naturally less resistant. The clue to this may very well lie in the genetic makeup of the bacteria.
 
I use topically clindymicin phosphate and benzoyl peroxide and take an pill called minocycline. Seems to beat the beast.
 
portent said:
Acne is always bacterial in origin. Hygeine, oil, dryness, and genetics may make it easier or harder for the bacteria to establish themselves and multiply, but bacteria are always involved. Some people just have better resistance to the bacteria than others. If they can determine exactly why some people are naturally more resistant, then perhaps this can be used to help those that are naturally less resistant. The clue to this may very well lie in the genetic makeup of the bacteria.
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Hmmm, I guess that makes sense. I stand corrected then. Leave up to about 10 different dermatologists and 4 years of confusing lingo to get me off base! I'm so glad I'm rid of it though because it once it spread to my back it was no longer a cosmetic/esteem issue. I couldn't carry a backpack because it would rip open the sores, and it became a damper on my everyday life. I just hope I don't relapse! :eek:
 
Me neither. I hope it doesn't come back. :(

I guess it makes sense that it's always bacterial. I used to find that two ways of reducing the amount of acne you had was:

1) Don't touch your face with your hands. If you feel the need to scratch, DON'T!! Learn not to scratch, and you won't have to scratch whenever you're itchy.

2) Wash your hands often, in case you touch your face.

3) Don't wash your face too often. Yeah, that's what I said. If you don't wash your face and dry it out, and you don't touch your face too often, then all the "grease" on your face is just natural, and most people have it on their faces as well.

It all worked a little, but I took Accutane anyway, and now the situation is much, much better. :)
 
uhhhhhhhhh....

themadchemist said:
Umm...that's cool...Seinfeld, though, would be more skeptical of the advances of the "Pimple poppers MD."
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Skin Cancer !

(the best show... ever)
 
stoid said:
I couldn't carry a backpack because it would rip open the sores
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Thank you for that.

Be wary though, I know people who were once on Accutane, and the acne can come back after several years. Usually though, its not as bad because you're normally in your 20's by then.
 
that will be excellent if they can prevent kids in the future from having acne. its one thing that can make teenagers extremely depressed, at least it did with me. luckily accutane took care of the problem after many tries with other products.

iJon
 
agreenster said:
Be wary though, I know people who were once on Accutane, and the acne can come back after several years.
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Ah crap! :(

I guess I'll have to go with my no-touching-my-face routine again. It worked, but not nearly as well as medication. I once used that minocycline pill, but I really don't like taking pills forever. I wanted a more natural way of doing so, maybe adjusting my lifestyle a bit, but the face-touching and hand-washing method did it for me. Also, I have normally dry skin, so using moisturizer whenever it's dry helps as well. Over-washing my face causes breakouts because it dries it out.
 
Yeah

I did the whole acutane bit for 6 months, and guess what, yeah it did go away for a little while but then it came back. Now I am off the acutane and trying to control my acne using creams, and gels, and pads and man when will this stuff go away! :mad:
 
i get them from time to time. they usually break out on my forehead, probably from my hair although i wash it daily. i'll have to to stop touching my face so much like people say. i know it helps but it seems like a lot of people on the forum swear by it, so we will see if it works. i'm just glad i can look in the mirror and not look like a clown with red all over.

iJon
 
Wow, I'm surprised so many on here have taken Accutane ... I've stayed away from it because of its possible side effect of depression.

I've taken Benzaclin though ... works wonders. So does Doxycycline, but it gives you horrible stomachaches. :(
 
mac_gal said:
Wow, I'm surprised so many on here have taken Accutane ... I've stayed away from it because of its possible side effect of depression.

I've taken Benzaclin though ... works wonders. So does Doxycycline, but it gives you horrible stomachaches. :(
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yeah i saw the side affects but i was so happy when i was on it, i could see my face clearing up and it was a wonderful feeling. only side affects i really had was loss of hunger, tired a lot, and dryness of my lips.

iJon
 
mac_gal said:
Wow, I'm surprised so many on here have taken Accutane ... I've stayed away from it because of its possible side effect of depression.
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Bah, that depression thing is BS. The only reason that even became an issue was because of that politician's son who committed suicide. They needed to blame it on something so that it wouldn't ruin his political career, and the one medication he was taking was Accutane. There was a story of a kid who lived in Tampa, FL (local for me) who crashed a prop plane into an office building on purpose. The first thing his parents screamed was "Accutane!!," but he hadn't taken it in months.
 
All medications have side effects. Most of them decrease with use or by adjusting the dose. With most of the above examples, individuals need to take responsibility for their own actions.

This treatment will revolutionize acne care. All that I had was tetracycline and weekly visits to a dermatologist. At each visit she would mechanically open each acne pore. It would cause pain and would ask how much more I could tolerate.
 
although having mild acne since early in my teens, it got significantly worse my senior year. Trying all the medications over-the-counter and prescription, Accutane was the most potent (and dangerous) one that ended most of my acne. It seems in my family and extended family, peanuts and chocolate tend to cause break outs. Perhaps the acne is genetic too? I can pretty much say that i consistently get zits a few days after eating peanuts and other nuts for sure. then there's chocolate ... who can resist? I occassionally have to have some sweets. I hardly have any acne now that I'm older and most of my blemishes are gone.

although not nearly as bad as mine, my brother uses a Chinese herbal medication that seems to work pretty well. There's a topical liquid that his herbalist makes that reduces the inflammation of zits really fast ... 1-2 days. I've used it before. And there's another paste but I'm not sure if it really works ...
 
my parents had me do weird s*** when i had it in jr high. i guess they read from this top doctor or something that you should put egg yoke on your face cause of the vitamin a helps. i was like to hell with that, lets get some real medicine. luckily i had it in jr high instead of high school, when it would have really gotten to me. i still try to keep my skin clear with my old differin gel and azlex or something like that. my cabinets are stocked with old medicine.

iJon
 
Just nitpicking, but for the record, the study mentioned in the original post isn't about a new medication or treatment. It's the study of the genome. Having the genome on hand will potentially allow others to develop new or more effective treatments in the future, but it doesn't provide any direct clinical help.
 
Accutane rid me of my acne as well.

It did "return" about a year after I stopped taking accutane, but it's only a shadow of what it was, and easily controlled. Before Accutane, I have so many of those large ones that hurt and leave scars, all over my face, neck, back and arms. That sucked. Now, I have two, maybe three at a time. So the risk for side-effects with Accutane is worth it 100% for me.
 
Accutane is quite dangerous to females who become preganant. It has a little preganant woman icon with a red circle and bar over it on each part of the wrapping where each pill can pop out of the packaging. It's supposed to cause birth defects to the baby.

The side effects of accutane is quite lengthy although the worst side effects to me were mild. I got dry skin/lips.
 
dcollierp said:
Try cutting back on or eliminating dairy from your diet. Seems weird, but it works.
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I'm not trying to flame here, but I'm wondering if there's any data that backs up the claim. Often times, these things cure themselves and when we try treatments that "seem" to work, it's often a coincidence of a self-limiting disease getting around to terminating itself while we put ourselves on some course. This could be why charlatans are so successful: Not only do they play upon people's hopes, but they benefit from the occassional fluke that a disease disappears while they administer a treatment, creating the appearance that there's a cause-and-effect relationship between the treatment and the disease.

Therefore, I'm wondering if the phenomenon you've observed has been documented widely and reproduced, especially if it's been evaluated in a clinical setting. A double-blind experiment with a placebo control wouldn't hurt either.

Thanks.
 
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