BERLIN — It is quite possible, 5–10 years from now, that adolescents will be able to get an anti-acne vaccine, Dr. Harald P. Gollnick said at the annual congress of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology.
Recent advances in the understanding of acne pathogenesis have opened the door to novel therapeutic possibilities, according to Dr. Gollnick, professor of dermatology and venereology at Otto von Guericke University in Magdeburg, Germany, and chairman of the Global Alliance to Improve Outcomes in Acne, an international panel of experts.
He discussed several potential new acne therapeutic possibilities:
▸ Vaccination. Dermatologists at the University of California, San Diego, have developed Propionibacterium acnes vaccines with demonstrated efficacy in mouse models (Infect. Disord. Drug Targets 2008;8:160–5).
▸ Dietary manipulations. The hormones present in commercial dairy–produced cow's milk as a potential aggravating factor in acne have drawn increasing attention, particularly in Europe, and a recent Harvard University study found skim milk consumption to be positively associated with acne in teenage boys (J. Am. Acad. Dermatol. 2008;58:787–93).
▸ Insulin sensitizing agents. Metformin and the thiazolidinediones have demonstrated a beneficial anti-acne effect in the setting of polycystic ovarian disease (Expert Opin. Ther. Targets 2009;13:1205–26)
Dr. Gollnick is an adviser for Immune Technologies and Medicine, maker of an investigational acne therapy.