What does the body of evidence say on acne and how to treat it? Plus: you’re going to want to pay attention to this latest study if you have food allergies, and Chris answers listeners’ questions about when to exercise, whether spinal cord stimulators work, and why some older adults are told that surgery would mess with their brain.

A Block: Acne

(0:59) Who gets acne; what causes acne; what are the risk factors for acne; how to treat both mild and moderate-to-severe acne.

B Block: New Food Allergy Drug

(34:16) A drug already approved to treat asthma, omalizumab (Xolair), can work against food allergies, including peanut allergy.

C Block: Answering Emails

(47:32) Questions about when is the best time to exercise (and whether or not you should be fasting); the benefits of spinal cord stimulators for people dealing with chronic pain; and why some older adults are being denied surgery.

* Theme music: “Fall of the Ocean Queen“ by Joseph Hackl

* Assistant researcher: Aigul Zaripova

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References:

Prevalence of acne

1) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2007.06.045

2) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5788264/

Genetics as a cause of acne

3) https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1523-1747.2002.19621.x

Psychological toll of acne

4) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2008.07.013

5) https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2133.1997.18131897.x

Diet and acne: the impact of milk

6) https://doi-org/10.1016/j.jaad.2004.08.007

7) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2007.08.049

8) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17083856/

9) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2016.04.030

10) https://doi.org/10.1111/jdv.13835

Diet and acne: the role of carbohydrates (or glycemic load)

11) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2007.01.046

12) https://doi.org/10.1111/ced.12673

13) https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-4632.2009.04002.x

14) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2009.07.043

15) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2009.07.043

Stress and acne

16) https://doi.org/10.1001/archderm.139.7.897

Overview of acne treatments

17) https://doi.org/10.1067/mjd.2003.618

18) The clinical trial of Xolair for food allergies: https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa2312382

19) The Nature News Explainer on Xolair and food allergies: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00586-8

It’s Not Twitter, But It’ll Do:

1) Jonathan on The Current to talk about wellness and skepticism: https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-63-the-current/clip/16040098-how-tell-wellness-trends-wrong