Dermodex eggs at base of hair follicle
I have to confess to a liking for parasites. There’s
something about them that fascinates me; they always have – it’s probably
another aspect of my ongoing love for all things Gothic; Architecture, Vampire literature,
Buffy, True Blood and Young Dracula. (I accept that by confessing to all of this
I am providing yet further proof that I am a hopeless geek).
So when I read in the 8 September edition of New Scientist of a piece of research which suggests that a
parasitic arachnid of the Genus Dermodex
living in our facial pores may
be the reason why some people get develop the skin condition Rosacea – I must
admit I was intrigued. This tiny mite
feeds off our cells and the skin oils that we give out. Kevin Kavanagh of
the University of Ireland, writing in the Journal of medical Microbiology, has found that people with Rosacea have 10 times more
of these mites living on their face than is normal.
Here’s the really gory bit of the story: Dermodex has no
anus (!) and so cannot defecate. As a result as they feed off us they get bigger and
bigger and eventually they burst. Mr Kavanagh believes that the volume of faeces
released when enough of the mites explode simultaneously triggers an immune response
causing the characteristic inflammation on the faces of sufferers. To know this he has to have measured this - great job huh!
Apparently Rosacea is currently treated with antibiotics that kill one kind of
bacterium in the mites’ gut and Mr Kavangah’s work suggests that people with
Rosacea are more likely to have immune cells that react to two proteins within
the bacterium; if someone could produce a treatment that targets these proteins
then we could prevent rosacea. Clever stuff ! So tonight when you wash your
face before bed - look deep in the mirror and don't forget to look out for Dermodex. Sleep
well; don’t have nightmares.....
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