http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2013/02/got-pimples-you-may-need-better-.html?ref=hp
Whether they had clear or pimply skin, all the study participants sported similar abundances of P. acnes living in their pores, but not all of the strains were the same. The researchers found a number of different strains of the microbe, including 66 that had never been identified before. When they sequenced the genomes of each strain and compared them, they discovered that two of the strains, RT4 and RT5, were found predominantly in people with acneand that one strain, RT6, was found almost exclusively in people with clear skin. Because this "good" strain contains genes known to fight off bacterial viruses and other potentially harmful microbes, the researchers suspect that it may actively ward off the "bad" strains that are associated with disease, thereby keeping skin healthy.
I'm a biologist, so I'll do my best to field any questions.
I've just read the article on another website: http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2013/02/28/acne_study_points_the_way_to_more_effective_cure.html# and come to post it, but see you've already done it.
It's certainly a surprising concept that p.acnes could hold the cure.
I guess it's similar in some respects to the gut, where we have good and bad bacteria and the good is to keep us healthy.
I'll definitely be watching this closely.
I believe this is the original study: http://www.nature.com/jid/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/jid201321a.html
Why is this topic not generating more interest? It seems like the biggest breakthrough for a long time.
So by taking probiotics internally fix the skin problems??
I dont believe there are any of the same strands of bacteria on your face that are in your gut. So if the question is whether taking a probiotic orally would distribute good bacteria on your skin, the answer is probably not. Although taking a GOOD probiotic will probably improve your overall health and reduce inflammation and acne anyway.
I've hypothesized this for a while. I dont really have anything to back it up but I've always guessed that acne is the result of an overgrowth of some microbe on the skin. I've been looking for ways to increase the good bacteria on my skin, e.g., topical pre/pro biotics, maybe rubbing faces with someone who has really nice skin? Lol. Anyway, good to see my ideas aren't completely crazy.