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Differential response of sebaceous glands to exogenous testosterone
Author(s) -
; Holland,
Cunliffe,
Norris
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
british journal of dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.304
H-Index - 179
eISSN - 1365-2133
pISSN - 0007-0963
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2133.1998.02322.x
Subject(s) - acne , medicine , endocrinology , sebaceous gland , testosterone (patch) , forehead , excretion , dermatology , anatomy
To test the hypothesis that the seborrhoea of acne is an end‐organ hyper‐response to androgens, a standardized dose of 2% testosterone cream was applied to the forehead of eight prepubertal boys for 6 weeks and the effect determined by measurements of sebum excretion rate (SER). Three boys showed a 15‐fold increase in SER and three boys were non‐responders, whereas two boys had SER values between those of the responders and non‐responders. These data show that sebaceous glands are stimulated by androgens to varying degrees and support the theory of an end‐organ response in acne.