Thesis (M.S.)--Bowling Green State University, 2005. / Document formatted into pages; contains xi, 71 p. : ill. (some col.) Includes bibliographical references.

Dissertation submitted in partial compliance with the Masters Diploma in Technology: Homoeopathy, Technikon Natal, 1994. / The aim of this study was to determine the degree of proficiency of Homoeopathy in the treatment of Acne Vulgaris in terms of its clinical manifestations and the patients perception to the treatment in order to determine the role Homoeopathy plays, if any, in the treatment of this condition. In this study the specific single variable design chosen was the 'before-and-after with control'. A sample of thirty patients was randomly taken from the greater Durban area, and from this sample fifteen patients were treated with Homoeopathic treatment and the remaining fifteen received placebo treatment. Patients were screened using a series of delimitations set out in a consent form which was signed by the patients. An extensive case history was performed on each patient at the first consultation in order to assess their Mental, Emotional and their Physical well being and were seen at regular four week intervals thereafter. The patients were also photographed at the first and all the subsequent visits. Based on the case history and a physical examination, Homoeopathic medication or placebo was prescribed according to the law of similars. At each of the following consultations the patients completed a questionnaire regarding their perception to the treatment and were rephotographed noting any changes. / M

Dissertation submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for the Master's Degree in Technology: Homoeopathy, Technikon Natal, 1997. / The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of a homoeopathic acne complex Sil-Sel-Hep-K-Lap-Puls, which is an abbreviation of its components - Silicea 30CH, Selenium 9CH, Hepar sulphuris 30CH, Kali bromatum 9CH, Arctium lappa 3CH, and Pulsatilla 30CH, in the treatment of acne vulgaris. This study is a double blind randomised placebo-controlled clinical evaluation. Convenience sampling was employed to draw 34 patients, of both sex, median age 21 years from the greater Durban area. Those patients suffering from Acne fulminans, Acne rosacea and Conglobate acne or receiving hormonal, vitamin, Schussler tissue salts, antibiotics and other acne treatments that would affect the acne vulgaris would not be accepted into the treatment. There were 34 patients of which 16 constituted the control group and received only placebo. The remaining 18 were the experimental group and were treated with the homoeopathic acne complex. The homoeopathic acne complex was prepared by the homoeopathic laboratory, Pharma natura. The effect of the homoeopathic acne complex was measured in terms of the reduction in the total number oflesions ie. The Leeds Technique for assessing acne vulgaris - the counting technique. / M

Acne is a disorder of the pilosebaceous unit often complicated by scarring. Five studies were performed to test the hypothesis that acne is common among Chinese and that the use of laser and light source is safe and effective for the treatment of acne and acne scars in Asians. The self-reported prevalence of acne in Hong Kong was assessed using a questionnaire among a randomised sample of 522 persons aged 15-25 years. The prevalence was 91.3% with a point prevalence of 52.2%, and acne scars and pigmentation were reported by 52.6%. The existing topical and oral anti-acne medications are limited by their efficacy, adverse effects and patient compliance. Light can target the pilosebaceous unit and reduce the growth of Propionibacterium acnes, for which lasers or light sources have been explored as therapeutic options. The aim of this study was to determine whether lower fluence and shorter cooling of the 1450-nm diode laser would improve acne while minimising post-laser hyperpigmentation in Asians. A total of 26 Chinese subjects received four treatments of three passes with this laser at a fluence of 8 J/cm2 with dynamic cooling of 25 ms. A 40% reduction (p<0.03) in mean lesion count was observed 6 months after treatment with a significant improvement in sebum production and a hyperpigmentation rate of 3.8%. A split-face, controlled study was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of intense pulsed light (IPL) alone or in combination with short-contact 16% methyl aminolevulinate photodynamic therapy (PDT) in 30 Chinese subjects with acne. Among the PDT-treated group, 25% withdrew due to treatment discomfort. No significant differences in the reduction of inflammatory lesions were observed between the intervention groups and the control group. A delayed effect with reductions in non-inflammatory lesions was observed in the PDT-treated (38%; p=0.05) and IPL-treated (43%; p=0.01) groups 12 weeks after treatment. Liposome was used to deliver 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) into the pilosebaceous unit to lower the concentration of 5-ALA by 40-fold during PDT. The study aimed to investigate the tolerability and efficacy of PDT with IPL using 0.5% liposomal 5-ALA for inflammatory acne. A mean reduction of 65% in the inflammatory lesion count was observed after 6 months (p=0.043) in 12 Chinese subjects. No dropout or significant side effects were observed. The treatment of acne scars has often been complicated by Asian skin phototypes regarding the risk of post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. Fractionated radiofrequency induces deep dermal heating with less epidermal disruption. The aim of this study was to examine the efficacy and safety of combined bipolar radiofrequency and fractional diode 915 nm laser followed by fractional radiofrequency in 24 Chinese subjects with acne scars. The mean grade improved by 29% (p<0.001), and 52% subjects were rated as having at least a moderate global improvement at 3 months. Subjective improvement was moderate to significant in 36.8%. Hyperpigmentation occurred after 6.5% of the treatments. In conclusion, the studies indicated that laser and light source can be used effectively and safely for the treatment of acne and acne scars commonly found in Asians. / published_or_final_version / Medicine / Master / Doctor of Medicine

Thesis--Wisconsin. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 51-54).

Thesis--Copenhagen. / "Dette arbejde er udført paa Universitetets Institut for almindelig patologi i aarene 1922-23." "Literary works": 1 p. at end.

Dissertation submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for the Master's Degree in Technology: Homoeopathy, Technikon Natal, 1999. / The purpose of this study was to compare the relative effectiveness of a homoeopathic complex consisting of: Kalium Bromatum 9CH, Selenium 9CH, Sulphur Iodatum 15CH, Natrum Muriaticum 15CH and Silicea Terra 30CH; and a herbal complex containing: Echinacea purpurea, Arctium lappa, Berberis aquifolium and Taraxacum officinalis in the treatment of acne vulgaris in terms of its clinical manifestations. / M

Acne vulgaris is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder, which affects the pilosebaceous units of the skin. Although this disease is normally self-limiting, it affects over 50 million Americans and results in lost productivity and treatment costs exceeding 1.2 billion dollars annually.1 While the exact cause of acne is unknown, its pathogenesis is classified into four factors: increased sebum production, abnormal keratinization, hypercolonization by Propionibacterium acnes, and inflammation.2 Despite numerous treatment options, increasing resistance to antibiotics3 and significant side effect profiles of many other therapeutics has created a need for safer, gentler treatment options. There has been renewed interest in the gut-skin-brain axis theory and the therapeutic role of oral probiotics, as new evidence suggests that gut dysbiosis plays an important role in mediating cutaneous skin inflammation and acne lesions.2 Specifically, strains of Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium bifidum, two strains commonly found in probiotics, have been found to decrease gut permeability and reduce systemic inflammation associated with acne.4 Additionally, in small clinical trials, these strains decreased acne severity and had an supplemental effect on clinical efficacy when used with oral antibiotics.5 Despite these promising results, the lack of large randomized controlled trials with standardized outcome measurements has prevented the adoption of oral probiotics as a viable treatment option by domestic and international dermatological societies. Therefore, this study proposes a randomized control trial to determine whether the adjunctive use of oral probiotics with antibiotics significantly reduces acne severity compared to oral antibiotics alone. We hypothesize that there will be a statistically significant decrease in acne severity scores among those receiving oral probiotics and antibiotics compared to those receiving only antibiotics among adolescents between the ages of 12-24 with moderate to severe acne. We hope that these study results will help provide evidence to incorporate oral probiotics into practice as a safe and efficacious treatment option to those suffering from moderate to severe acne, while advancing our understanding of how mediating gut microbiota can improve acne outcomes.

Acne vulgaris is a complicated disease. It is primarily caused by dead skin, excessive sebum, and bacteria proliferation, all of which clogs hair follicles. The nature of this disease can start as comedone acne that affects young children, which progress into inflammatory acne in adolescent. The disease can persist into adulthood and is even reported to affect those 40 years of age. In adulthood, acne is more prevalent in women than in men. In addition to scarring and other physical damage, acne can also be psychologically damaging, especially in adolescents and adults. This paper will attempt to elucidate the causes of acne which includes: hormone, diet, smoking, environment, and human biology. Then this paper will explain common treatments that include: oral antibiotics, isotretinoin, topical treatment, hormone therapy, and light and laser therapy. After establishing researched causes and treatments, this paper will look into misconceptions regarding acne. Since there are many myths surrounding acne, this paper will only visit a few well documented misconceptions. Finally, this paper will formulate some new areas of research that acne literature is lacking. Acne is a serious disease and new information and research must be done in order to clear up misconceptions and allow physicians to provide better treatment.

Um dos maiores desafios na área médica dermatológica tem sido o tratamento da acne. Esta dermatose afeta 80 a 90% dos adolescentes. A busca por tratamentos alternativos tornou-se importante devido à resistência bacteriana de Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) aos antibióticos comumente utilizados contra este agente etiológico e pelos efeitos colaterais produzidos por estas drogas. Visando minimizar estes efeitos colaterais e proporcionar a eliminação de P. acnes, uma nova modalidade de tratamento vem sendo pesquisada, a terapia fotodinâmica (TFD). TFD já está bem estabelecida no combate a muitos tipos de câncer e tem se mostrado promissora na área estética. Os protocolos de TFD para tratar a acne tem como base a síntese endógena de hematoporfirina e compostos relacionados induzida por ácido 5-aminolevulínico (ALA), um tratamento com tempo de incubação grande, dolorido e usando a luz azul. O objetivo deste estudo foi de um modo geral avaliar a eficácia da inativação fotodinâmica sobre o microrganismo P. acnes utilizando como FS a hipericina e irradiado com um LED amarelo (590 nm). A inativação do microorganismo foi conseguida mesmo com uma concentração baixa de hipericina (menos de 1 \'mü\'g/mL) e foi caracterizada pelo curto tempo de bioacumulação estacionária (cerca de 2 min 30 s). A eficiência fotodinâmica de hipericina foi comprovada nos experimentos, e também pode-se observar que o uso do LED amarelo a partir de doses pequenas (4,55 ± 0,08 J \'CM POT.-2\') sendo capaz de reduzir 63% das células viáveis utilizando 10 \'mü\'g/mL de hipericina. / One of the prominent challenges in medical dermatology has been the treatment of acne. The acne affects 80 to 90% of teenagers. The search for alternative treatment has become important due to bacterial resistance of P. acnes to usually applied antibiotics against this etiologic agent and the side effects produced by these drugs. In order to overcome these limitations to inactivated the P. acnes, the photodynamic based protocols has been studied. Already, well established named photodynamic therapy has been used against many cancers and the use of light has shown promise in the esthetic area, the photodynamic protocols has been used to treat acne based on endogenous synthesis of hematoporphyrin and related compounds induced by -aminolevulinic acid, a long term treatment and using the blue light. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of photodynamic inactivation of the P. acnes using hypericin, irradiated by a yellow LED (590 nm). The microorganism inactivation was achieved even at low concentration of hypericin (less than 1 \'mü\'g/mL), and was characterized by the short time bioaccumulation stationary state (around 2.5 minutes). In order to guarantee the reproducibility typically the incubation time was 10 minutes. The photodynamic efficiency was evaluated to be 4.55 ± 0.08 J \'CM POT.-2\' able to reduce 63% of the viable cells using 10 \'mü\'g/mL of hypericin. These results allow concluding that the hypericin is an effective FS to inactivate P. acnes.