
“A better understanding of acne pathophysiology and the role of inflammation has … yielded a better understanding of how existing therapies treat the disease and have led to more comprehensive treatment strategies that are multitargeted," says Leon Kircik, M.D., Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York.
Systemic antiandrogens and hormonal modulation are already used to treat acne successful in some women, but there are concerns about systemic exposure.11 As clascoterone is applied topically and acts locally on androgen receptors in the skin, no systemic exposure has been seen and preliminary data from phase 2 trials suggest it has the potential to be an effective and a well-tolerated treatment.12
Researchers have found that cannabidiol (CBD), one of the 113 cannabinoids identified from Cannabis sativa, has anti-inflammatory properties which can prevent the proliferation of sebocytes,13 inhibit human keratinocyte proliferation14 and to possess potent antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacteria such as C. acnes.15
MORE ON ACNE: Read more stories here.
A synthetic cannabidiol topical formulation, BTX 1503, is being tested in acne, Dr Kircik says.
“Early clinical data confirm both the anti-inflammatory effects of topical BTX 1503 as well as its effects on noninflammatory lesions, with 4-week reductions in inflammatory lesion counts similar to what are reported in clinical trials for leading FDA-approved topical therapies in the same time frame,” he says.
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double-blind, vehicle-controlled studies. Poster presented at: 2019 Winter Clinical Dermatology Conference; January 18-23; 2019; Koloa, HI.
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