@Article{, title={The Antioxidant effect of N-Acetylcysteine and its role in the treatment of patients with Acne vulgaris}, author={Ahmed S. Sahib2 and Ahmed R. Abu-Raghif1 and Haidar Hamid Al-Anbari1}, journal={Karbala Journal of Medicine مجلة كربلاء الطبية}, volume={5 no 1}, number={11}, pages={1390-1395}, year={2012}, abstract={ackground: Acne vulgaris is one of the most common conditions for which patients seek dermatological care and is a common disorder of the skin that affects individuals of all races and ethnicities. There has been an increasing focus on the extent to which oxidative stress is involved in the pathophysiology of acne. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of N-acetylcysteine, a well known antioxidant, in the treatment of acne vulgaris.Patients and Methods: This study was carried out on 28 patients of both sexes with age range of 14-30 years who allocated into two groups:Group 1, treated with N-acetylcysteine orally and topical moisturizing cream once daily at bed time for 8 weeks .Group 2: were treated with placebo once daily orally and the same topical moisturizing cream . In addition to 28 healthy people, with age and sex matched group who serve as control group for baseline comparison. Serum malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) were estimated at baseline and at the end of study after 8 weeks, In addition to clinical follow up.Results: Administration of N-acetylcysteine to patients with acne vulgaris (Group 1), significantly reduce serum MDA level; and increased serum level of GSH after 8 weeks compared to pre-treatment value, also reduce the number of inflammatory lesions by 21.41% and 48.91% after 4weeks and 8 weeks respectively, compared to placebo.Conclusion: The results obtained in this study clearly showed the beneficial effect of using N-acetylcysteine to patients with acne vulgaris and confirmed the role of new strategy in the targeting of pathophysiological changes accompanied with acne by using antioxidant agents.Key words: Acne vulgaris, N-acetylcysteine , antioxidants, oxidative stress.

} }