Hello Everybody!
As a skin therapist I always keep up to date with acne treatments for teens. I thought this week it might be interesting to look at the latest acne cures and research. As we all know not all treatments work well, and some of them will cost an arm and a leg! This is why I always tell my patients to stay informed-you never know when a new product might come onto the market that may work for you.
Robert Modlin, a dermatologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, US, has developed what he thinks might be a new acne treatment based on nanoparticles of chitosan. Chitosan is a polysaccaride obtained from the shells of crustaceans like crabs and shrimps!
The team was examining the use of chitosan as a carrier for antibiotics and found that chitosan can kill various bacteria. It is possible that biodegradable nanoparticles may be effective in acne treatment as well as to transport compounds. Wow!
Did you know that over the many years that acne has been treated with oral and topical antibiotics, acne causing bacteria (P.acne) has become resistant to many drugs? Research is being done all the time to try to find alternative drugs to replace the ones that have become obsolete.
New topical antibiotics are becoming sought after and there is also research being done on the potential side effects of isotretinoin and the long-term effects of other medicines currently used for treating teen acne. In new laboratory experiments researchers are studying the biology of sebaceous cells. Their idea is to try to treat acne by disrupting the action of the sebaceous glands.
I've always said the best treatments come from nature! Let's see where these latest discoveries lead us in the future. Remember there is so much hope!
Love and Hope
Johanna
