To Re: Demodex Theory

[Guest guest]

Hi, ,

wow, what a coincidence that I AM german ! Born and raised in Germany, finished

highschool there. It will be easy for me to contact Dr. Plewig. Many thanks for

the suggestion. I am also very interested in what Marie Cunningham has to say,

I hope she'll let me know.

Annie

Sent: Monday, November 27, 2000 1:30 PM

Subject: Demodex Theory

Hello Annie

Thanks for your message. Since being diagnosed with rosacea 4 years ago I

have read as much material as I can find on the disease and possible causes.

The demodex mite does crop up frequently, but I haven't found too much to

substansanate the theory. You might well have found another way of

incriminating this parasite. Sometimes the obvious isn't always obvious - if

you know what I mean and perhaps the great minds in dermatology are looking for

something more complex.

The only items I have to hand are: The cea Handbook (pages 41 - 42) " This

tiny( 0.3 mm long) lives in hair follicles. It is found most frequently on the

face, scalp and upper chest. There have been quite a few studies about the

connection between Demodex folliculorum and rosacea. A theory was that mite

infestations caused rosacea papules and pustules. Many people without skin

problems also have Demodex folliculorum, so researchers looked at the density of

the mites rather than the mites just being there. they wanted to find out if a

concentration of the mite was the cause of rosacea. One study found the highest

concentration of mites on the cheeks. cea suffers had more than twice the

Demodex folliculorum infestation than people without rosacea. when they

examined the concentration of mites, they found almost two and a half times as

many DF in a square centimetre of skin of rosacea sufferers compared to the

control group. Some studies confirm the higher concentration of DF on the skin

of rosacea sufferers but at least one other couldn't confirm those findings.

The biggest question though is whether the mites are contributing factors to

rosacea or a result of the disease. The arguments for being a case include:

Immune agents the body releases to combat the DF damage skin tissue and create

papules and pustules, DF clog the follicles they live in. On the other hand DF

may find a comfortable environment in skin that is already damaged by swelling

and leaky capillaries. This is another example of not knowing for sure which

came first. We encounter this situation frequently when looking at rosacea's

symptoms and suspected causes. Again further research is needed " . - Ann-Marie

Lindstrom.

I found another article in a natural health magazine which said " Large doses

of B vitamins have been shown to be effective in the treatment of rosacea.

Riboflavin (vitamin B " ) in particular seems to be the most indicated - though it

should always be taken with the backing of a complete B complex. Riboflavin may

have a role in inhibiting the growth of a mite, Demodex folliculorum, which has

been identified as a possible cause of rosacea " .

As usual with these alternative medicine methods there never seems to any

evidence or proof that they work. That's my experience anyway !

I spoke to Marie Cunningham (UK Acne Support Nurse - she has rosacea) today

and she was interested in your E:mail which I will send on to her. She told me

she attended a seminar a few years ago held by Gerd Plewig and the Demodex

theory was mentioned. Apparently he is one of the world's leading authorities

on rosacea. She suggested you try contact him at the Department of Dermatology,

University of Dusseldorf, Dusseldorf, Germany. Unfortunately she did not have

an E:mail address. Perhaps we have some Germans within this group who could

advise on this.

Hope this helps anyway.