An antioxidant found in grapes can be used to treat acne, a new study finds.
The study was conducted by UCLA researchers. They found that combining resveratrol with a common acne medication, benzoyl peroxide, may enhance the drug's ability to kill the bacteria and could translate into new treatments.
"We initially thought that since actions of the two compounds are opposing, the combination should cancel the other out, but they didn't," said Dr. Emma Taylor, the study's first author and an assistant clinical professor of medicine in the division of dermatology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, in a press statement. "This study demonstrates that combining an oxidant and an antioxidant may enhance each other and help sustain bacteria-fighting activity over a longer period of time."
Researchers found that though benzoyl peroxide was also capable of killing the bacteria initially, the effect was only short lived. Contrarily, resveratrol didn't have a strong killing ability but the effect lasted longer.
"It was like combining the best of both worlds and offering a two-pronged attack on the bacteria," said senior author Dr. Jenny Kim, professor of clinical medicine in the division of dermatology at the Geffen School.
A very recent study also highlighted that reducing stress can reduce acne and pimple problems. Stress causes the skin's nerve endings to release an increased level of chemicals such as neuropeptides and neurotransmitters. When this occurs, it can affect how and at what level our body responds to many important functions, such as sensation and control of blood flow and can contribute to the symptoms of stress that we feel. In addition, the release of these chemicals can lead to inflammation of the skin.
In 2003, a Stanford University study published in the Archives of Dermatology found that college students had acne flare-ups during exams, a period in which they reported more stress compared to periods without testing. Acne severity correlated highly with increasing stress, the researchers concluded.
Unfortunately, the stress connection doesn't end there. Picking at pimples is frowned upon by dermatologists everywhere but these skin specialists also know that they cannot simply prescribe "leaving your pimples alone" as an acne remedy, despite it being sage advice.
Findings were published in the current online edition of the journal Dermatology and Therapy. The study was funded in part by a Women's Dermatologic Society Academic Research Grant and the National Institutes of Health.
