Elevated serum insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) levels in women with postadolescent acne.
The purpose of this study was to measure the serum levels of IGF-1 in women with postadolescent acne compared to normal controls, and evaluate the relationship of these levels to the levels of androgens, in order to investigate the possible role of IGF-1 in the pathogenesis of acne. Eighty-two female patients with acne between 20 and 25 years of age and thirty-one age-matched control women were studied. We measured the serum levels of total testosterone (T), free testosterone (FT), dihydrotestosterone (DHT), dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S), and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). The levels of IGF-1 in patients with acne (1.26 +/- 0.52 U/ml) were significantly (p < 0.001) increased over those of controls (0.96 +/- 0.32 U/ml). Of 82 acne patients, six (7%) had IGF-1 levels which exceeded the normal range, but there were no significant correlations between IGF-1 and T, FT, DHT or DHEA-S levels or between IGF-1 and acne severity. Since the measurement of serum IGF-1 levels is a convenient indicator of GH secretion, the increase of serum IGF-1 levels seen in some acne patients might reflect an increase of GH.
Aizawa
H
H
Department of Dermatology, Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Niimura
M
M
D000152:Acne Vulgaris / Q000378:metabolism*; D000328:Adult; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000032:analysis; D019314:Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate; D013196:Dihydrotestosterone / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / Q000032:analysis*; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D013739:Testosterone / Q000032:analysis
D013196:Dihydrotestosterone; D013739:Testosterone; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone; D019314:Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I