WEDNESDAY, Nov. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Overproduction of adrenal steroids could contribute to the development of acne in males, according to a study published online in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.
Marianne Placzek, M.D., of Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich, Germany, and colleagues measured androgens in 82 male patients with mild to severe acne, and 38 acne-free men. They tested morning testosterone values, luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate, androstenedione and 17-hydroxyprogesterone, plus a corticotropin stimulation test.
Levels of 17-hydroxyprogesterone were significantly higher in acne patients than in the control group, the researchers found. In 10 out of 82 patients, the corticotropin stimulation test also showed abnormal 17-hydroxyprogesterone values, the authors report.
"The results suggest that in men, irregularities of adrenal steroid metabolism may be a factor contributing to acne," the authors write.
Abstract
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