[Miss_Chybil]

Researchers found that the blotchy skin condition develops when an abundance of a protein called cathelicidin is present.
By Alison Williams, Times Staff Writer
4:40 PM PDT, August 5, 2007

Researchers have solved a medical mystery that has eluded them for hundreds of years, demonstrating that an abundance of abnormal skin proteins causes the blotchy skin condition called rosacea.

In a study published Sunday in the online edition of the journal Nature Medicine, scientists showed that people with rosacea have too much of a protein called cathelicidin that was processed incorrectly.

The results could aid researchers in designing an effective treatment for the disease, which affects 14 million people in the United States.

"We haven't had this kind of important finding in the study of rosacea for a long time," said dermatologist Jenny Kim of UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study.

more...
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/...la-home-center

[Princess74]

Thats great. Sounds like there will be a cure out soon.

[oramar]

Darned interesting, gives hope to people that suffer from this condition.

[Jess1983]

wow......that is so cool! isn't rosacea hereditary?

[TrudyRN]

I think it is considered auto-immune. Yet, it is treated with Flagyl, so there is yeast involved, apparently.

Also, some people have ocular rosacea. I hope there will soon be help for them, too.

[Penny8611]

As a member of the Red Nose Brigade, I'm delighted to see this!

[Katnip]

This definitely makes me happy.

And I've never received Flagyl for it. The current antibiotic treatment is low-dose doxycycline. It's not for yeast, it's for the inflammation.

I've been through just about every treatment out there for it, including IPL. I sure hope now that they know the cause, a cure or at least a more effective treatment is found soon.

[Myxel67]

[quote=TrudyRN;2337935]I think it is considered auto-immune. Yet, it is treated with Flagyl, so there is yeast involved, apparently.

Also, some people have ocular rosacea. I hope there will soon be help for them, too.[/QUOTe

Trudy, Flagyl is an antibiotic used to fight certain anaerobic bacterial and protozoal infections. Its generic name (metronidazole) does sound like a fungicide though. Maybe it was named that because it also works against mycoplasma bacteria which resemble fungi. A topical form is used to treat rosacea (MetroGel and Rozex).

It's used often for bacterial GI tract infections such as Clostridium dificil, and Helicobacter pylori. It's used for protozoal infections such as amebic dysentery, Giardiasis, vaginosis caused by Trichomonas vaginalis.

No, I'm not a Flagyl Fanatic. I thought it was fungicidal too, until I realized we never used it for any fungal infections.

[CHATSDALE]

my youngest has this in his teen years it can e so heartbreaking

[Havin' A Party!]

Wow! Rosacea affects 14 million in the US. That's huge!

Didn't think it was that prevalent.