Acne Medications

J Nurs Res. 2009 Mar; 17(1): 20-29Chang YT, Chen YCABSTRACT:: The purposes of this study were to assess menstrual attitudes and menstrual distress and investigate factors associated with menstrual distress among postmenarcheal female elementary students. A total of 129 female students from 12 elementary schools in Taiwan's Hualien County participated in this study. A stratified cluster random sampling method was adopted. The questionnaire used consisted of three sections asking questions regarding the individual's menstrual characteristics, menstrual attitudes, and menstrual distress. Study results showed that most respondents experienced menstrual blood seepage during the daytime and awakened at night during their periods due to worries about menstrual blood seepage. This study found that indigenous students had significantly more frequent episodes of menstrual blood seepage during the daytime and awakened at night during period than did nonindigenous students. The mean score on the Menstrual Attitude Questionnaire was 1.88 (SD = 0.36, possible score = 1-4). The three most prevalent symptoms of menstrual distress were dysmenorrhea, acne, and fatigue. The mean score on the Menstrual Distress Questionnaire was 1.00 (SD = 0.76; possible score = 0-4). Moreover, there was a significantly negative correlation between menstrual attitudes and menstrual distress and significantly positive correlations between menstrual distress and (a) time since menarche, (b) menstrual blood seepage during the daytime, and (c) menstrual blood seepage while sleeping. Study results recommend that families and elementary schools help postmenarcheal female elementary students to accept menstruation as a natural process.

J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2009 Apr 7; Kuijper EA, Vink JM, Lambalk CB, Boomsma DIIntroduction: Intra-uterine androgens of a male fetus may influence the female fetus in opposite sex-twin pairs. As female intra-uterine overexposure to androgens could lead to polycystic ovary syndrome, the prevalence of PCOS should be higher, in women from dizygotic opposite-sex twin pairs. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to evaluate the prevalence of polycystic ovary syndrome in women from opposite-sex twin pairs compared to women from same-sex twin pairs, sisters and female spouses of twins. Subjects and Methods: Data from 1325 monozygotic twins, 1191 dizygotic twins (711 women from same-sex twin pairs and 480 women from opposite-sex twin pairs), 745 sisters of twins and 218 spouses of male twins were evaluated. PCOS was defined as less than nine natural menstrual cycles a year combined with either hirsutism or acne. The prevalence of PCOS was compared using a chi-squared test. Binary logistic regression analyses were conducted to test for confounding effects of smoking, age and BMI. Results: No significant differences in PCOS prevalence were found between women from same sex twin pairs (either monozygotic or dizygotic), opposite-sex twin pairs, sisters and spouses. Conclusion: The prevalence of polycystic ovary syndrome is not different in women from opposite-sex and same-sex twin pairs, singleton sisters or spouses. This indicates that possible androgen exposure of the female fetus, caused by a shared intra-uterine environment with a male fetus, does not result in PCOS-like traits.

J Invest Dermatol. 2009 Apr 23; Nakatsuji T, Kao MC, Fang JY, Zouboulis CC, Zhang L, Gallo RL, Huang CMThe strong bactericidal properties of lauric acid (C12:0), a middle chain-free fatty acid commonly found in natural products, have been shown in a number of studies. However, it has not been demonstrated whether lauric acid can be used for acne treatment as a natural antibiotic against Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes), which promotes follicular inflammation (inflammatory acne). This study evaluated the antimicrobial property of lauric acid against P. acnes both in vitro and in vivo. Incubation of the skin bacteria P. acnes, Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), and Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epidermidis) with lauric acid yielded minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values against the bacterial growth over 15 times lower than those of benzoyl peroxide (BPO). The lower MIC values of lauric acid indicate stronger antimicrobial properties than that of BPO. The detected values of half maximal effective concentration (EC(50)) of lauric acid on P. acnes, S. aureus, and S. epidermidis growth indicate that P. acnes is the most sensitive to lauric acid among these bacteria. In addition, lauric acid did not induce cytotoxicity to human sebocytes. Notably, both intradermal injection and epicutaneous application of lauric acid effectively decreased the number of P. acnes colonized with mouse ears, thereby relieving P. acnes-induced ear swelling and granulomatous inflammation. The obtained data highlight the potential of using lauric acid as an alternative treatment for antibiotic therapy of acne vulgaris.Journal of Investigative Dermatology advance online publication, 23 April 2009; doi:10.1038/jid.2009.93.