immune system and demodex

[norman jones]

demodex seems to effect people with comprimised immune sytems. is that always the case? can a person with a healthy immune system contract and have demodex out of control?

also is it possible that the demodex infestation itself has a weakening effct on the immune sytem rather than a result of a weakened immune system?

[Walter]

No, that is for sure not always the case, on the contrary, look at teenagers, would be hard to say they have compromised immune systems.isn't it?
in case of teenagers, the immune system has nothing to do with it, just that because there hormone levels are upset their
sebaceous glands produce to much sebum which is in turn the perfect circumstances for the mites to multiply, they infect the
gland and follicles, block the follicles and there you have acne.
In case of rosacea, the immune system is involved but not because it is compromised, it just reacts at the allergens from the mites
or the microbes which they carry inside, in case of acne rosacea the spots become because the mites infect the glands and follicles, just like with acne,
the redness is because of an immune system reaction and can take the longest time to go away.
Remember, not all rosacea are because of demodex mites, there can be other triggers involved.
In some cases when the immune system is indeed compromised there can become an over population from demodex mites
which can lead to skin problems but this is for most people not the case.
I don't think that the demodex infestation itself has a weakening effect on the immune system.

Walter

[Brady Barrows]

demodex seems to effect people with comprimised immune sytems. is that always the case? can a person with a healthy immune system contract and have demodex out of control?

also is it possible that the demodex infestation itself has a weakening effct on the immune sytem rather than a result of a weakened immune system?

Norman Jones,
I found an interesting quote from a paper that gives a better definition of rosacea than I have ever found before. Here is a quote from an article, "Occular Rosacea," by J Bradley Randleman, MD, and C Diane Song, MD, which in part says,

"...rosacea may be thought of as a disease spectrum with 2 primary etiologic components, vascular and inflammatory. The earliest manifestations of the disease are cutaneous vascular dilatory changes with subsequent increased blood flow in the form of telangiectasias and erythema...

The later stages of rosacea are marked by inflammatory changes in the form of papules and pustules in the midface, rhinophyma (bullous nose), blepharitis and meibomitis, and corneal vascularization. A type 4, cell-mediated hypersensitivity reaction has been hypothesized as a possible mechanism. Demodex mites also have been implicated as a possible inflammatory stimulus. Additionally, Helicobacter pylori has been postulated to be a causative factor in a subset of patients. Whatever the underlying mechanism, there is a fundamental abnormality in the sebaceous glands of the face and eyelids, which leads to the inflammatory changes exhibited....In the US: More than 10% of the general population exhibits dermatologic characteristics of rosacea..."

source > http://www.emedicine.com/OPH/topic115.htm

The article says that rosacea may be thought of as a 'disease spectrum' which to me shows how little they really know about rosacea since so many diseases present as acne/rosacea and can be quite confusing. For instance in the article quoted above, there are mentioned at least
sixteen different diseases that need to be differentiated from occular rosacea. I have a page dedicated to the list of skin conditions that look like rosacea which are classified as different than rosacea with a total of 23 other diseases that look like rosacea but are classifed as different. Here is the list >

Acne Adult
???Acne Drug-induced
Acne Vulgaris
Alcoholism
Allergic contact dermatitis
Cutaneous Lupus (rare)
Demodecosis
Eczema
Keratosis Pilaris Rubra Faceii
Keratosis Pilaris Atrophans
Lupus SLE,
??? Lupus subacute
Lupus chronic
Lupus Erythematosus, Acute
Perioral Dermatitis, irritant or
Perioral Dermatitis
Photodermatitis
Photosensitivity Drug-induced
Pityrosporum Folliculitis
Polymorphous light eruption
Rheumetoid Arthritis
Sarcoidosis
Seborrheic Dermatitis (commonly misdiagnosed)
Subcutaneous Lupus
Sjrogen's Rynaunds disease

Now, what about the immune system being compromised in a rosacean?

"It seems likely that Demodex infestation does not manifest unless local or systemic immune function is altered, leading to the proliferation of the organism and subsequent disease."

This study was done on a "35-year-old patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome who had demodicidosis on his face, characterized by multiple papules and papulopustules, associated pruritus, numerous mites on skin-surface biopsy and in biopsy specimens, and rapid response to topical treatment with permethrin."

source >
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/q ... 695&dopt=A

Whether or not the immune system dysfunction is the cause, or the demodex mites going amuk is the problem would require further research.

I have formed a non profit organization to find the cure for rosacea which you might want to volunteer to help. See this url >

http://www.irosacea.org

[norman jones]

Thankyou Brady..........really good information