Acromegaly Presenting with Resistant Acne Vulgaris

Fatema Abdulwahab Khamdan; Milaan A Shah; Maryam Ahmed Khamdan; Eman Albasri

doi:10.1159/000525069

Acromegaly Presenting with Resistant Acne Vulgaris

Case Rep Dermatol. 2022 May 30;14(2):151-156. doi: 10.1159/000525069. eCollection 2022 May-Aug.

Authors

Fatema Abdulwahab Khamdan^{1

2}, Milaan A Shah³, Maryam Ahmed Khamdan¹, Eman Albasri¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Dermatology, Salmaniya Medical Complex, Manama, Bahrain.
² Department of Dermatology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA.
³ University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, South Carolina, USA.

Abstract

Acne vulgaris is one of the most frequent skin diseases worldwide, triggered by multiple endogenous and exogenous factors. Hormones, particularly growth hormone (GH), insulin-like growth factor-1, insulin, CRH, and glucocorticoids, play a major role in the pathogenesis and exacerbation of acne. Excess GH seen in acromegalic patients may result in increased size and function of sweat glands and sebaceous glands, which may contribute to the patient's worsening acne and interfere with dermatologic treatment. Therefore, understanding the pathogenesis of acne will help in treating resistant acne by diagnosing and treating the underlying etiology using multidisciplinary treatment.

Keywords: Acne vulgaris; Acromegaly; Resistant acne.

Publication types

Case Reports