Treatment of Resistant Acne Vulgaris in Adolescents Using Dietary Supplementation with Magnesium, Phosphate and Fatty Acids (Omega 6 and 7): Comparison with 13-Cis-Retinoic Acid.

What Was Tested

This randomized controlled trial looks at Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc in the context of acne.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether dietary supplementation with magnesium, phosphate, omega 6 (linoleic acid calcium salt - C18:2 fatty acid Ca salt), and omega 7 (palmitoleic acid calcium salt - C16:1 fatty acid Ca salt) would help patients with acne vulgaris, and to compare with isotretinoin (13-cis retinoic acid).

Why It Was Studied

Linoleic and palmitoleic acids have bactericidal activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Cutibacterium acnes (formerly known as Propionibacterium acnes).

Who Took Part

The abstract describes 257 patients taking part.

The age groups tagged for this paper are teenagers.

How the Study Was Run

In design terms this was a randomized and single-blind study.

Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc and who got the comparison, which limits bias.

In this single-blind Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc study one party knew the assignments and the other did not.

What Was Measured

The subject headings attached to it are Acne Vulgaris, Calcium, Dietary Supplements, Fatty Acids, Isotretinoin, Magnesium and Phosphates.

The authors tagged it with the keywords 13-cis-retinoic acid, dietary supplementation, linoleic acid, palmitoleic acid, synthetic P-MAPA and synthetic SB-73.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized and single-blind study of Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc in 257 patients in people with acne.

The publication is from 2023 (Journal of dietary supplements), a journal based in England.

More context: the Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc compound page, Acne research.