To increase medical knowledge of rosacea and how to control it, the National Rosacea Society is establishing a research grants program to provide funding for important scientific research on the potential causes and other key aspects of this poorly understood disorder that is wreaking physical and emotional havoc on millions of Americans. The society invites all readers to support this new program by sending a tax-deductible donation along with their Rosacea Review subscription request form.

"Individuals who partner with the medical community by contributing to research funding are very effective advocates for expanding scientific knowledge regarding rosacea," said Dr. Lynn Drake, editor of Rosacea Review and president of the American Academy of Dermatology. "Their participation is a very important step toward improving the lives of those who suffer from this condition."

She noted that the extent of the program will be determined by the amount of donations received, and that the availability of the research grants will be announced to major medical research centers throughout the United States.

Grant applications will be reviewed and recipients selected by a medical advisory board that includes Dr. Jonathan Wilkin, director of Dermatologic and Dental Drug Products at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; Dr. Drake, professor and chairman, Department of Dermatology, University of Oklahoma; Dr. Mark Dahl, chairman of Dermatology, University of Minnesota, and a former president of the American Academy of Dermatology; Dr. Richard Odom, chairman of Dermatology at the University of California, San Francisco, and a former president of the American Academy of Dermatology; Dr. S. Wright Caughman, professor and chairman of Dermatology at Emory University; Dr. Frank Powell of Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Dublin, Ireland; and Dr. Michael Detmar, associate professor of Dermatology at Harvard Medical School.

"Medical therapies available today treat the symptoms rather than the root cause or causes of this chronic disorder, and must be used on a long-term basis," Dr. Wilkin said. "Expanding scientific knowledge of the possible causes of rosacea should help form a basis for developing potential cures, preventions or better ways to control this condition. Wider medical research should also uncover more knowledge about such key areas as rosacea's progression and mechanism of action, as well as its epidemiology, predisposition and relationship with environmental and lifestyle factors."

Although the cause of rosacea is unknown, it is widely believed that it may be a vascular disorder, relating in some way to the blood vessels in the body.¹ Some experts have also speculated that rosacea's characteristic flushing may be due to a lack of normal supporting tissue in the layers of the skin or to a deterioration of some of the top layers of skin that causes the capillaries to be seen more easily.

"New research can further illuminate how rosacea works and how best to control it," Dr. Drake said. "Rosacea Review readers have long asked how they can help. Now, with the research grants program, they can."

Rosacea sufferers wishing to support the research grants program can print the subscription request form and mail it along with their donation to the National Rosacea Society, 111 Lions Dr., Ste. 216, Barrington, Illinois 60010.