The world’s first anti-acne vaccine could change your life

2 June 2017
By Fashion Quarterly

Woman face injections (H)

Game-changer!

If you managed to get your hands on a copy of the latest issue of Miss FQ, you’ll know our digital and associate editor Skye Ross has been battling cystic acne for the past 10 years.

Her skin has cleared beautifully thanks to her amazing treatments at About Face and while Skye’s story will no doubt give many acne sufferers hope, there’s even more light at the end of the tunnel with news just out that a vaccine to treat the debilitating skin condition is in the works.

Scientists from the University of California, San Diego have been developing a way to treat acne that specifically focuses on blocking the negative side effects of acne-causing bacteria, according to this report from the UCSD Guardian.

“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,” said lead researcher Eric C. Huang.

“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.”

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The acne vaccine is still in the testing phase, and is yet to be trialed on patients.

“So far, it’s worked on skin biopsies that the researchers collected from acne patients,” Huang explained. “The next stage is testing on patients.”

Trials could take up to one or two years, but are expected to get under way soon.

Fingers crossed it works!

To read Skye’s story on how she cured her acne, pick up the latest issue of Miss FQ from all good bookstores and supermarkets.

Photo: Getty Images

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