A New Vaccine For Acne May Be On Its Way

Acne treatment is a $3 billion industry in the United States. Acne is a major irritation for many adolescents and adults and, due to demand, there are many face washes, ointments, and at home treatments all sworn to cure the face malady. Two months ago, the Inquisitr reported on a woman drinking dog urine and the news went viral. She claimed it cured her acne. Everyone is desperate to have a clear face.

Each person’s acne is a bit different and there isn’t a one-size-fits-all cure. However, researchers are working on the development of a new vaccine for acne. Hopefully, soon no one will ever have to drink dog urine again.

The Atlantic reports the new vaccine would be the first of its kind. It would focus on reducing the body’s inflammatory response to a kind of bacteria that is frequently the cause of acne. The vaccine has already been tested on mice and human tissue samples.

“The potential impact of our findings is huge for the hundreds of millions of individuals suffering from acne,” said Chun-Ming Huang, the lead researcher working on the vaccine according to The Atlantic.

Of course, the bacteria that is targeted by the new vaccine is not the source of all acne. Acne is a fairly complicated affliction and can be affected by diet, exercise, genetics, hormones, medications, and skin type. What the new vaccine does is target a specific cause of acne. For that reason, Carlos Charles, the founder of Derma di Colore, a dermatology practice that specializes in skin of color finds the new vaccine “really promising,” according to The Atlantic. It’s single narrow focus — the inflammatory response of the skin bacteria has great potential.

Emmanuel Contassot, a senior assistant at the University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine of the University of Zürich, spoke to the Atlantic about the possible side effects of the vaccine.

“Targeting P. acnes [the bacteria most often associated with acne] with a vaccine would be more specific and less toxic than chemical therapies,” says Contassot. Since not all P. acnes is bad (just like there are ‘good’ stomach bacteria, there are good P.acnes bacteria) targeting the wrong kind “might worsen patients’ condition by disturbing skin integrity,” he explains.

“I wouldn’t envision it being a single agent but it may help to pare down some of the other things that we do,” adds Charles. Patients of the new vaccine would have to continue to monitor their diet and practicing skin care. For the time being, we will all continue to wait as the vaccine continues to be developed.

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