>>139302
>>139310
So you understand where I'm coming from, here is a rough draft of an article on acne I've been working on. It originally was going to explore male pattern baldness as well:
Grease, Acne, & Toxic Fatty Acids
In the skin, there are microscopic exocrine glands that secrete an oily substance called sebum which contributes to a greasy texture of hair.
> The results of two model experiments show that SERUM does not creep along the HAIR. Accordingly, the sebum which coats the hair does not originate from its FOLLICLE. It is assumed that the terminal hair picks up sebum mechanically from surrounding follicles.
[…]
> Therefore, we can assume that the sebum, which is present in the hair follicle, is coating the whole hair. Greasing of the hair, which takes place during its growth out of the sebum-filled follicle, is of minor importance, since the rate of hair growth is only 0.35 mm a day. Moreover, recoating of hair by sebum occurs within a few days.
—Eberhardt (1976)
While a greasy texture is merely aesthetic in itself, both acne and baldness not only involve increased sebum production but have also been shown to be inducible by sebum itself in experiments:
> Scalp sebums of 64 young men were applied once daily for ten times to the external ear canal of the rabbit. In every instance follicular hyperkeratosis resulted.
> This finding supports the conception that sebum contains substances that directly stimulates the follicle to form a comedo, the elementary lesion in acne vulgaris.
—Kligman (1968)
> In the first place, even repeated applications of squalene failed to produce baldness in mice, while a single local treatment with human sebum gave rise to loss of hair in a high percentage of these animals.
—Flesch (1953)
As not everyone has acne or baldness and yet it can be reasonably assumed that everyone makes some amount of sebum, either the quality—as in the composition or ingredients of the sebum—or the quantity of sebum produced may be the deciding factor on its effects, and there is direct evidence to support the notion of quality:
> Initially we used pooled scalp sebum. Curiously, some batches were more active than others. Eventually we learned that activity varied among individuals, indeed sometimes in the same individual when samples were collected at different times.
—Kligman (1968)
In acne, the prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (or cyclooxygenase-2/COX-2) enzyme expression has been found to be higher:
> Both COX isozymes, COX-1 and COX-2, are expressed in human sebocytes in vitro, in particular COX-2 expression is selectively upregulated in acne involved sebaceous glands in vivo⁴¹ (Fig. 4).
—Makrantonaki (2011)
And inhibition of COX-2 (the same enzyme) has been shown to relieve acne symptoms:
> BACKGROUND: Premenstrual acne is poorly understood, the accepted hypothesis is 30 years old. AIMS: Here we test the hypothesis that premenstrual acne can be suppressed using Cox-2 inhibitors. METHODS: Eighty women with premenstrual acne were enrolled in a trial where they were given rofecoxib, a Cox-2 inhibitor or placebo for 10 days for two cycles and were evaluated using acne severity index and inflammatory acne counts. RESULTS: Rofecoxib was more effective than the placebo. CONCLUSIONS: Although the number studied is small, the results suggest that rofecoxib is effective in the management of premenstrual acne and that prostaglandin PGE2 may be involved in its pathogenesis.
—Tehrani (2004)
Additionally, when transgenic mice were made to overexpress COX–2 in their skin, they were found to have greasy hair:
> COX-2 overexpression in the expected locations, resulting in increased prostaglandin levels in epidermis and plasma, correlated with a pronounced skin phenotype. Heterozygous transgenic mice exhibited a reduced hair follicle density. Moreover, postnatally hair follicle morphogenesis and thinning of interfollicular dorsal epidermis were delayed. Adult transgenics showed a body-site-dependent sparse coat of greasy hair, the latter caused by sebaceous gland hyperplasia and increased epicutaneous sebum levels.
—Neufang (2001)
There are many cycloxygenase inhibitors that can downregulate these processes, such as vitamin A and E, (Halevy, 1987) and vitamin A is shown to directly treat acne (Mills, 1972) while there are many indirect signs that vitamin E would be effective as well, such as its cyclooxygenase inhibition and synergism with vitamin A. (Ayres, 1979) However, these are frequently losing strategies that may win a battle but forfeit the war, as so many acne stories tell of hopelessness and mystery. What is being prevented by the inhibition of cyclooxygenase is the production of prostaglandins from ω-6 fatty acids. Many acne treatments offer temporary relief, and many of them operate by inhibiting this prostaglandin production pathway. The permanent solution then becomes the elimination of ω-6 fatty acids from the diet, as discontinuing their consumption will eventually end this cycle of inflammation and excessive production of toxic sebum containing prostaglandins. Results don’t come instantly however. The human body is capable of storing fats in various tissues for multiple years before their final purge, so an obese individual will in all likelihood take longer to reach victory than a lean person. The best course of action is to avoid ω-6 fatty acids like the plague, primarily by avoiding the consumption of vegetable oils, such as corn oil, soybean oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, cottonseed oil, flaxseed oil, etc and to become replete in vitamins which protect against prostaglandin production and perhaps occasional usage of cyclooxygenase inhibitors such as aspirin.
Antibiotics of the tetracycline-class have also been shown effective in the treatment of acne. (Mills, 1972; Hubbell, 1982) Tetracyclines lower nitric oxide production (Milano, 1997) by eliminating bacteria that are creating lipopolysaccharides, or endotoxin, (Milano, 1997; Possel, 2000) and nitric oxide is intimately associated with the production of prostaglandins. (Kim, 2011) It might be inferred that a gut inhabited by the wrong kinds of bacteria makes acne worse through upregulating the nitric oxide production that is associated with prostaglandin production, so eating certain foods that act as fuel for these bacteria might be cautioned against.