A vaccine for acne could soon be on its way
Anyone with acne will know that while there are plenty of medications and remedies out there, there’s no silver bullet for the condition.
While drugs such as Isotretinoin or certain contraceptive pills might help, or even home remedies, just about all of them can cause side effects or do nothing at all and are far from ideal.
Which is why news that an acne vaccine could be on its way will be music to many ears.
Over at the University of California, San Diego, a group of scientists are working towards creating a vaccine for it.
The problem with acne is that the bacteria that contributes to acne isn’t entirely bad, so eradicating it wouldn’t be such a good idea.
But researchers have found a way of blocking the effects of that bacteria without destroying the bacteria itself.
“Acne is caused, in part, by P. acnes bacteria that are with you your whole life — and we couldn’t create a vaccine for the bacteria because, in some ways, P. acnes are good for you,” Eric C. Huang, the project’s lead researcher, told Allure.
“But we found an antibody to a toxic protein that P. acnes bacteria secrete on skin — the protein is associated with the inflammation that leads to acne.”
And so far, the results are looking hopeful; it’s worked on skin biopsies collected from acne patients and, according to Huang, the next step is testing it on patients in clinical trials.
The trials, of course, will take a couple of years – but they’ll be underway soon.
So fingers crossed.
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