Dyssebacia:An Early Cutaneous Marker of Niacin Deficiency

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Nicotinic acid suppresses sebaceous lipogenesis of human sebocytes via activating hydroxycarboxylic acid receptor 2 (HCA2)

“…Nicotinic acid (NA) and nicotinamide are members of the vitamin B3 complex, whose deficiency leads to pellagra, a disease classically characterized by diarrhoea, dementia, dermatitis, and, if remains untreated, death. Interestingly, in light‐exposed skin areas with high levels of sebum excretion, such as the face, dyssebacia (a sebaceous gland [SG] dysfunction characterized by abnormal, inspissated sebum production, as well as consequently enlarged facial SGs and dilated SG orifices through which the plugs may be projected) has also been reported . Importantly, in pharmacological doses, NA has widely been used in the clinical practice in treating dyslipidaemias for decades, while, quite surprisingly, nicotinamide (albeit being equipotent with NA as a vitamin) fails to improve these conditions .…”