A small study in Russia recently examined the effects of different species of Demodex mites in rosacea. Researchers examined 212 patients in three groups: healthy controls, rosacea patients without mites, and rosacea patients with mites. They found that Demodex folliculorum mites were more commonly present in severe cases of papulopustular rosacea,while the other species that affects humans, Demodex brevis, was found to be more common on the skin of people with milder rosacea or healthy skin.

The ways in which disruptions and imbalances in the ecosystem of bacteria, Demodex mites and other microorganisms on the skin, known collectively as the skin microbiota, may be involved in the development of rosacea were discussed at the summer meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology in New York.

As research continues to reveal the many ways the human microbiome may affect human health, the potential role of Demodex mites in rosacea has come into sharper focus with new technology and may point to new approaches in patient care, according to experts at a roundtable on the clinical implications of Demodex in rosacea.

Medical research has often pointed to the microscopic skin mite Demodex folliculorum as a potential factor in rosacea, specifically the bumps and pimples of subtype 2 (papulopustular) rosacea. Now the mite has surfaced again as a possible offender and therapeutic target for rosacea at this year's American Academy of Dermatology summer meeting.

Many of the factors considered potential causes of rosacea are now coming into sharp focus as a result of medical studies funded by the National Rosacea Society (NRS) research grants program, and the growing body of scientific evidence is making major strides toward defining the precise development of this widespread disorder.

A new study has found there may be a link between ocular rosacea and bacteria associated with Demodex mites, microscopic inhabitants of normal skin that tend to occur in much greater numbers in those with rosacea.

In the recently published study of 59 rosacea patients, Dr. Jianjing Li and colleagues at the Ocular Surface Center in Miami found a significant correlation between facial rosacea, infestation of the eyes with Demodex mites and reaction to certain mite-related organisms previously shown to stimulate an immune response in rosacea sufferers.¹

Results of research funded by donations from members of the National Rosacea Society (NRS) are not only increasing medical understanding of the disorder, but are now revealing potential causes that may lead scientists toward important new advances in therapy.

Although they are normal inhabitants of human skin and cannot be seen, microscopic mites known as Demodex folliculorum may actually be something to blush about, as a new study funded by the National Rosacea Society demonstrated for the first time that these invisible organisms may be a cause or exacerbating factor in rosacea.¹

In a preliminary study presented during a poster session at the American Academy of Dermatology annual meeting this year, Dr. Richard Burroughs and colleagues of Walter Reed Army Medical Center noted antibiotics may be effective in treating rosacea because of their action against yet-to-be identified bacteria.

The National Rosacea Society (NRS) has awarded funding for six new studies as part of its research grants program to advance scientific knowledge of potential causes and other key aspects of this chronic and often life-disruptive disorder that affects an estimated 14 million Americans.