A recent study has provided the first evidence that a vitamin common in different kinds of meat as well as dairy products may be linked to skin problems, as it changes the microbiota in the healthy face skin, linking vitamin B12 with acne for the first time.
According to Science Daily, new research suggests vitamin B12 and acne might be linked, as the vitamin, which has an important role in the formation of blood as well as the regular functioning of the brain and nervous system, actually changes the bacterial composition of some people who would regularly have a clear skin, leading them to have inflammation and ultimately pimples.
The study that found a link between vitamin B12 and acne came from the University of California and Los Angeles Health Sciences, and it was published today as a paper earlier this week, in the journal Science Translational Medicine under the name "Vitamin B12 modulates the transcriptome of the skin microbiota in acne pathogenesis."
The Verge reports that these new findings regarding B12 and acne are still in their earliest stage, but with further research on the subject they could eventually lead to the better understanding of skin problems such as acne, possibly being the key to developing new drugs to fight this condition in the future.
According to Fox News, to reach the conclusion that B12 and acne are linked, the team of researchers in California conducted two different studies: the first compared how much B12 was in the organism of 13 different acne patients with an average age of 24.8 years when compared to 20 healthy ones; there were no significant differences in gender, ethnicity or age in subjects.
Meanwhile, the second study saw 10 healthy subjects taking B12 supplements to then measure the changes in bacteria in their faces.
Within a week, one of the participants of the second study developed acne, confirming the working hypothesis linking the vitamin with the skin condition.
"The study is really about trying to figure out the molecular mechanism in terms of how skin bacteria functions in the disease process," said author Huiying Li, speaking about the newly discovered link between vitamin B12 and acne. "It's not just about B12; it's about how the activity of bacteria can trigger the host's skin disease, or maintaining skin health."