title: Acne in the adult female patient: a practical approach.
abstract: Acne vulgaris is a common reason why adult women present to dermatologists and can be a clinical challenge to treat. It may also be an important sign of an underlying endocrine disease such as Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). Although standard acne therapies can be successfully used to treat acne in adult female patients, hormonal treatment is a safe and effective therapeutic option that may provide an opportunity to better target acne in this population, even when other systemic therapies have failed. In this article, a practical approach to the adult female patient with acne will be reviewed to enhance the dermatologist's ability to use hormonal acne therapies and to better identify and evaluate patients with acne in the setting of a possible endocrine disorder.
authors.affiliation: University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Faranak
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kamangar
authors.forename: Kanade
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shinkai
mesh_terms: D000152:Acne Vulgaris / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000726:Androgen Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003278:Contraceptives, Oral, Hormonal / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003879:Dermatologic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D005485:Flutamide / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011085:Polycystic Ovary Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D011247:Pregnancy; D013148:Spironolactone / Q000627:therapeutic use; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000726:Androgen Antagonists; D003278:Contraceptives, Oral, Hormonal; D003879:Dermatologic Agents; D013148:Spironolactone; D005485:Flutamide