For all the ‘cures’ for acne, of which there are many, there is very little research about their efficacy, about which ones work best, and for whom. Very few studies compare the treatments to each other in terms of effectiveness and safety, and there are concerns that the long term use of antibiotics to treat acne may contribute to bacterial resistance.
The scarcity of evidence-based guidelines for recommending acne treatment means that the guidelines are therefore opinion-based, which creates potential for conflicts of interest. Amazingly, given that acne effects most young people to some degree, very little is known about its causes and treatment, and even though factors such as sunlight, diet and skin hygiene are thought to play a part, millions of young people could be changing their lifestyles to experience no improvement at all in their conditions.
According to a seminar published in The Lancet, over half the trials conducted on acne contain serious reporting flaws, with few comparators. This has prompted the Institute of Medicine in the USA to target comparative-effectiveness research on acne therapy as one of the top 100 targets for national research.
Source: The Lancet
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