A is for antimicrobial.
I believe this would go beyond the skin as well. I would also immediately start thinking about the sinuses and any exposed mucus membranes.
I think problems here could maybe lead to thinning of the skin or loss of thickness/protection.
They also mention what sounds like Accutane.
Molecule that protects skin from infections needs vitamin A to work
What is already known on this topic
People with a low dietary vitamin A intake are highly susceptible to skin infections, but little is known about how this vitamin affects skin immunity.
What this research adds
Researchers have identified a previously unknown skin protein that kills bacteria by breaking up their cell membrane. The protein requires vitamin A to work.
Conclusions
The study provides an insight into how diet impacts the ability of the skin to protect itself from bacterial infection.
The team identified a gene whose product is called resistin-like molecule Ī± (RELMĪ±). This protein is known to be produced by some types of immune cells, fat tissue, and lung cells, but it had not been described in skin epithelium.
Like other skin antimicrobial molecules, RELMĪ± is able to kill bacteria including Streptococcus pyogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Propionibacterium acnes .
The bacteria-killing effects of RELMĪ± are due to the proteinās ability to make holes into the bacterial cell membrane, the researchers found. However, RELMĪ± is expressed only in the presence of vitamin A or its derivatives, like retinol .
Whatās more, mice fed a diet lacking vitamin A made no RELMĪ±, but they did start to produce the protein in their skin when treated with a vitamin A derivative that is used for severe acne.
Although more research is needed to determine how these findings will impact people with inflammatory skin conditions such as acne and psoriasis, the study provides an insight into how diet impacts the ability of the skin to protect itself from bacterial infections . It also helps to define the molecules that create a healthy relationship between the skin and its microbiota , the scientists say.
The work shows how vitamin A analogs so effectively treat skin conditions such as acne and psoriasis.
Sidenote,
The pathogenesis of acne centres around follicular dyskeratosis.
Topical retinoids such as tretinoin, adapalene or tazarotene are included in almost all acne treatment regimens because they are āarguably the only agents to normalise the abnormal follicular differentiation seen in acneā and by targeting the microcomedones āretinoids can not only treat but can also prevent the development of new lesions,ā she said.
In an article on vitamin A therapy in cases of Darierās disease Carleton and Steven1 stated that it occurred to Peck that āsince the chief pathologic change is a follicular dyskeratosis, the disease might possibly be due to vitamin A deficiency.ā They listed follicular hyperkeratosis as one of the diseases associated with vitamin A deficiency which is amenable to vitamin A therapy.
Follicular hyperkeratosis , also known as keratosis pilaris (KP), is a skin condition characterized by excessive development of keratin in hair follicles , resulting in rough, cone-shaped, elevated papules. The openings are often closed with a white plug of encrusted sebum.
^im thinking clogged pores and hair follicles that could also lead to hair loss.
Funny I might have had some of this going on before Accutane, meaning Accutane could have been just sort of a bandaid.
