Javier Jiménez, co-director of the research group and lecturer in the department of Biomedical Sciences, explained that rather than treating acne as an infectious disease, “we approached it as an imbalance in the skin’s bacteria.” The study, conducted with adolescents with and without acne, “focused on the balance between pathogenic and protective bacteria.” “We’re already familiar with the pathogen, but not the protectors, which is what we set out to identify,” he added.

In this study, the researchers found that young people without acne carried a specific bacterium that was absent in those with the condition. They isolated this bacterium, confirmed its anti-acne activity, and propose using a bioactive extract from it as a topical cosmetic treatment.

Antibiotic Overuse

One of the main advantages of this new treatment, the researchers point out, is that it avoids the use of antibiotics, the most common medication currently used to treat acne. Jiménez explained that “in many cases, treatment guidelines are not followed properly” and even when antibiotics are used correctly, “they eventually lose effectiveness.” He also warned that, by 2050, the WHO forecasts suggest that 10 million people could die annually from infectious diseases we are currently able to treat, due to the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

According to the co-director of the research group, “Acne affects a large proportion of the population and is one of the conditions for which antibiotics are most widely prescribed,” That is why it is so important to develop a treatment that "restores the skin’s natural balance and reduces the risk of resistance to these drugs.”