In patients with acne vulgaris and rozacea skin sebum, pH and moisture values Demodex enfestasyonuna effect

Aim: Demodex spp, found in pilosebaceous unit, are ectoparasites which are mostly encountered among people. They are considered pathogen if the number is over 5 per cm² or they show dermis penetration. Acne vulgaris (A. vulgaris) is also an inflammatory disease of pilosebaceous unit characterized by blackheads, papules, pustules and nodules. They are usually seen in the youth; however, they can occur at all ages. Rosacea is a chronic inflammatory skin disease, which particularly affects the face, and characterized by temporary or permanent erythema, telangiectasia, papules and pustules. Although it is seen more among women, men experience more intense forms of the disease. The biggest organ system of the body; the skin has various functions such as immune response, barrier and metabolism thanks to its biophysiological features such as sebum, pH and moisture. The study aims to determine if the levels of sebum, pH and moisture affect the development of Demodex spp in the patients of demodicosis, A. vulgaris and rosacea.Materyals and Methods: The study focuses on 30 patients from each group of A. vulgaris and rosacea patients, who applied to İnönü University Medical Faculty Dermatology Policlinic between the dates May 2009 and September 2009 and were diagnosed clinically. (Each group has 15 men and 15 women, average age is 20.4±4.0 for A. vulgaris, and 46.5±13.0 for rosacea) For control group, 60 control subjects were included among whom there are subjects with the disease of each group and subjects with no related disease. (For A. vulgaris, 15 men and 15 women, average age is 23.6±4.1; for rosacea 15 men and 15 women, average age is 50.6±11.7). For all patients and control group, the levels of skin sebum, ph and moisture has been measured by combined unit of Sebumeter SM 810, Corneometer CM 825, Skin-pH-meter pH 900 (Courage+Khazaka Electronic GmbH, Cologne, Germany).Results: Among the patients of A. vulgaris, while the skin of forehead, right cheek, nose and chin regions have been found out to be oily, acidic, dry and very dry for the ones with DF?5, the difference was significant in all regions except for the moisture in the forehead region compared to the ones having DF<5. Among rosacea patients, while the skin of forehead, right cheek and nose was normal oily, acidic and very dry for the ones with DF?5, the difference in all other values was significant compared to the ones with DF<5. Since there have been no patients with DF?5 on the chin region, no comparison could be carried out.Conclusion: It has been observed that the oily, acidic, and dry and very dry skin for patients of A. vulgaris; normal level of oil, acidic and very dry skin for rosacea patients, are facilitating factors for the development of Demodex ssp. However, since there is no pre-existing studies made on the effect of the level of sebum, pH and moisture on Demodex spp development in two diseases, extensive studies involving more patients are required to understand the relation better.Keywords: Demoex folliculorum, A. vulgaris, rosacea, sebum, pH, moistur