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Acne vaccination will soon be available to the public
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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Acne on the face is an eternal problem for many people. However, soon anyone will be able to get an acne vaccine: scientists from the University of California recently completed an experiment to create an acne vaccine. According to experts, such a vaccine will soon become a common drug in many clinical institutions.
Lead researcher Eric K. Huang explained that work on the miracle vaccine has been going on for many years, but scientists have only now reached the final stage.
"Acne is most often caused by pathogenic microorganisms such as propionic acid bacteria: they contain a lot of proteins and live in large quantities in the human body. Their toxicity does not always manifest itself - but only under particularly favorable conditions," says Eric K. Huang.
Acne forms on the face due to blockage of the sebaceous ducts. Such circumstances are favorable for propionic acid bacteria - their active growth and reproduction lead to the development of an inflammatory reaction. At this point, the body's immune defense is activated: the pathogenic flora dies, but a purulent process forms inside the sebaceous ducts - this is a pimple. Vaccine developers point out the fact that acne is a very problematic and common disease. Among Americans alone, at least 50 million people suffer from acne.
Medical experts note that propionic acid bacteria themselves do not pose a danger to the human body. However, during their life processes, they produce a toxic protein that negatively affects the course of the inflammatory reaction, aggravating pathological processes in the pores of the skin. The action of the newly developed vaccine is aimed at neutralizing this protein: scientists have managed to discover specific antibodies that can prevent a negative response of the skin to the toxic effect of the protein substance.
The researchers reported that testing of the new drug on experimental rodents had been successful as expected. The next stage should be testing on people recruited for the study on a voluntary basis. The final testing of the inoculation material may take about two years.
Nevertheless, scientists expressed confidence that within these two years the eternal question of combating acne will be put to rest. After all, in the past, in order to get rid of acne, long and complicated treatment was often required - first, the patient was examined by an endocrinologist, a gastroenterologist, then he took tests for hormonal status, and only after that the doctor prescribed certain drugs. Along with external means, action from the inside was also used - sometimes these were anti-inflammatory drugs, and sometimes hormonal ones. If specialists manage to finally solve the problem with the acne vaccine, then the need for such a long treatment will immediately disappear.