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Too much vitamin B12 may promote acne , accord to a new survey .
The study found that , in the presence of vitamin B12 , the skin bacteria that are commonly link to acne start pumping out incitive molecules known to encourage pimples .
In the study , scientists investigated the deviation between hide bacteria frompeople prone to acneand bacteria from people with clear - skinned faces . The investigator looked at the bacterium ’s gene expression , hope to figure out whyPropionibacterium acnes , which is the most common skin microbe , cause pimples in some people but not in others .
They found thatvitamin B12changed the gene expression of the cutis bacteria , which could have chair to acne - promoting kindling .
In humans , vitamin B12 plays roles in metabolism , ruddy blood cell formation and the alimony of thecentral anxious organization . It ’s commonly found in multivitamin pill , but the new research could raise doubtfulness about whether mass with acne should take vitamin B12 supplements .
" I think there ’s a link " between vitamin B12 and acne , said Huiying Li , a co - author of the new study and an assistant prof of pharmacology at UCLA ’s David Geffen School of Medicine . Her squad found a molecular pathway that could explain the link in their study , but it will need to be confirmed by future research . “There ’s still a lot to be studied in ordering to really sympathise if B12 stimulate acne , " she said .
Looking for a mechanism
By looking at the gene expression traffic pattern , Li ’s squad first found that the nerve pathway that produces vitamin B12 was importantly change in the tegument bacteria of people with acne , liken with the skin bacteria of people without acne . This determination raised Li ’s suspicion about B12 ’s use in acne , she say . Prior studies citing an association between these two chemical element corroborate the opening of a inter-group communication — research dating back to the 1950s has suggest that vitamin B12 supplements could lead to some people ’s acne .
Li ’s inquiry squad then looked at the skin bacteria in hickey - free mass who received a vitamin B12 injection . The researchers support that the B12 supplement repressed the expression of genes inP. acnesinvolved in synthesise the vitamin . In fact , the locution of those genes was lowered to levels similar to those of acne patients . [ 4 Common hide Woes , and How to Fix Them ]
A week after receiving the vitamin B12 injection , one of the 10 participant broke out in pimples . That person’sP. acnesgene - expression pattern also changed , the researchers found . Before the B12 injectant , it was exchangeable to those of the other healthy player , but 14 days after the vitamin B12 shot , it see much more like an acne patient ’s pattern .
The researchers also did experiments onP. acnesgrowing in research laboratory dishes . They discover that when they bestow vitamin B12 to the bacterium , the microbes started producing compounds called porphyrins , which promote ignition in acne . Inflammation is a key gradation in the late stages of acne development , Li said .
Together , the new findings suggest that when too much B12 is present , the bacteria have change in their gene look that suppress further deduction of the vitamin . These bacteria change over to producing porphyrin , the researchers explained , and in some people , this uptick ininflammatory compound may contribute to acne .
" We call back the pathway we studied could potentially excuse part of acne ’s pathogenesis , " Li said .
Hang on to those vitamin
But although the study found a potential link , it did not prove that too much vitamin B12 definitely causes or worsens acne .
" The information and hypothesis are very intriguing , but much extra probe is required to determine if this is a real cause - and - effect phenomenon , " say Josh Miller , a prof of nutritional science at Rutgers University who was not involved with the study .
In add-on , although the unexampled finding suggest that B12 supplementation may encourage kindling , other studies have evoke the diametrical — that vitamin B12 has anti - inflammatory properties , Miller articulate .
" Proof of a causative effect of B12 addendum on acne ontogenesis will want randomise control tryout with enough subjects to see a significant effect , if one survive , " he say Live Science .
Li also cautioned that it ’s right smart too ahead of time to paint a picture that people dealing with acne should bar take multivitamin with B12 . Most of the studies that have found an growth in acne with vitamin B12 involved large Cupid’s disease of the vitamin , given by injection , she pointed out .
" This work does present some compelling evidence suggesting that subjunction with B12 can cause or worsen acne in a subset of individual , " said Dr. Whitney Bowe , clinical assistant professor of dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York . " However , we do n’t have enough grounds at this point to broadly commend that all acne patient attempt to debar vitamin B12 supplements or food for thought rich in vitamin B12 . "
Beyond zits
The aim of the inquiry was to well read how human race , and themicrobes that know on their bodies , interact to cause disease , Li say . A deep intellect of microbial - disease pathways could lead to more targeted intervention , the investigator wrote in their study , published today ( June 24 ) in the journal Science Translational Medicine .
" The cogitation shows that " what we corrode or wassail can touch on the health of our skin by affecting the microbes that experience on our skin , " Bowe sound out . " We have 10 bacterial cells for every one human cell in our consistence . The more we learn about these bacteria , the more we are actualize the major impact they have on our health and well - being . "
