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Acne is one of the most common skin conditions in children and adolescents, and there are increasing amounts of acne seen in younger age groups. In addition, acne and acne-like conditions occur at different ages in childhood, including neonates, infants, and young children, sometimes associated with significant disease processes.

Although acne is so common, and there has been a great expansion in treatment options, there have not been standard guidelines for the management of pediatric acne, and there is tremendous variation in acne treatment amongst health care professionals.

On May 1st, Pediatrics (the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics) published new evidence-based recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric acne. These recommendations were developed through the American Acne Rosacea Society (AARS) and endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The recommendations are a result of a two-year effort of experts in acne, pediatric dermatology, and pediatrics, co-chaired by Dr. Lawrence Eichenfield, AARS President-Elect and Chief of Pediatric and Adolescent Dermatology and Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine (Dermatology) at Rady Children’s Hospital and University of California, San Diego, and Dr. Diane Thiboutot, AARS President and Professor of Dermatology at Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine.

The publication titled "Evidence-Based Recommendations for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Pediatric Acne" is authored by Drs. Lawrence Eichenfield, Andrew Krakowski, Caroline Piggott, James Del Rosso, Hilary Baldwin, Sheila Fallon Friedlander, Moise Levy, Anne Lucky, Anthony Mancini, Seth Orlow, Albert Yan, Keith Vaux, Guy Webster, Andrea Zaenglein, and Diane Thiboutot.

Many issues in acne were identified, researched, discussed, and distilled into recommendations that should help with appropriate diagnosis and treatment of acne. Acne can have tremendous negative psychological as well as physical effects. "And we really have the tools to minimize these problems," said Dr. Eichenfield, lead author. "I tell my patients that essentially all acne can be wiped out, but that we work to figure out what is the least amount of skin care and medicine we need to do it. These expert guidelines will help to improve knowledge and management of acne in all age groups."

The article discusses categorization of acne, as well as acne mimickers in different age groups including neonates, infants, young children, pre-adolescents, and teenagers. Topics discussed include diet and acne, the effectiveness, safety, and potential side effects of over the counter products, topical retinoids (vitamin A-based medicines), antibiotics, hormonal therapies, and isotretinoin (a systemic retinoid often called "Accutane," the original trade name). It includes visual and detailed algorithms to care for mild, moderate or severe disease, essentially flow charts to help practitioners navigate a person's treatment selections based on the type and severity of acne.

The full-text article is available online at: http://pediatrics.aappublications. org/content/131/Supplement_3/S163.full.pdf+html

The presentation entitled “Nitrosoglutathione generating nitric oxide nanoparticles as an improved strategy for combating Pseudomonas aeruginosa infected wounds,” published in the December 2012 edition of the JDD, received a third-place award in the Montefiore Medical Center Young Investigator Research Competition. Presenter Allison Kutner MSIII, research fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Adam Friedman, stressed the importance of seeking out innovative approaches to overcome multi-drug resistant pathogens such as Pseudomonas that can cause complicated skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs). “In this study, we showed that through nanotechnology we could harness the broad spectrum antibacterial power of nitric oxide (NO) and its intermediates, in this case, nitrosoglutathione, to treat aggressive SSTIs,” said Ms. Kutner. “The ability to provide sustained release nitric oxide as well as nitrosoglutathione through this nanoparticle platform overcomes many of the limitations witnessed with other NO releasing drugs, hopefully bringing us one step closer to translating NO’s potential to the bedside,” commented Dr. Friedman.

Epionce has announced the launch of Intense Defense Anti- Aging + Repair Serum. Intense Defense Anti-Aging + Repair Serum is a highly advanced anti-aging serum that stimulates skin rejuvenation using botanical sources of Vitamins A, B, C, D and E without the irritation caused by many vitamin-based serums. “Most currently marketed anti-aging serums offer individual or combinations of vitamins A, B, C, D, and E. However, all five of these vitamins are used by the skin in order to function properly, ie healthy metabolism.” said CEO and Founder of Epionce, Dr. Carl Thornfeldt. “My goal was to create a product