Clinicians may soon be able to identify patients at a higher risk of developing severe acne through new acne genetic findings that discovered 29 areas of the genome that impact the condition.

This is according to research from St John’s Institute of Dermatology at Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London and the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute in Brisbane, Australia.

The study also discovered a correlation between acne genetic risk and disease severity. Individuals with the highest genetic risk have a higher chance of developing a severe illness.

“The next phase of our research will explore these genetic variations in more detail,” Michael Simpson, head of genomic medicine group at King’s College London, tells PersonalCareInsights.

“The next steps in our research will identify the biological processes that are affected by these genetic variants. By understanding the processes that are influenced by these gene variants, we hope to find potential targets that could be used in new acne treatments.”

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By Nicole Kerr -14 Feb 2022