ABSTRACT
Acne is and will always remain a disturbing disease because it is highly visible as well as manifesting itself at an age when young teenagers are very concerned about their looks. However, to state that acne is only limited to adolescents (where males tend to show the more severe forms of the disease) is wrong, as especially postadolescent women are also affected by the disease (1). The primary cause of acne is an obstruction of the pilosebaceous canal. This is due to at least four pathogenic factors: (i) increased proliferation, cornification, and shedding of follicular epithelium (i.e., hyperkeratinization); (ii) increased sebum production (i.e., hyperseborrhea); (iii) colonization of the follicle with Propionibacterium acnes and Staphylococcus aureus (i.e., microbes); (iv) induction of inflammatory responses by bacterial antigens and cell signals (i.e., inflammation) (2). Earlier chapters of this book will have dealt extensively with these etiological and pathogenetical aspects of acne.
