ACNE AND THE CARBOHYDRATES

Abstract

There has long been an opinion among members of the medical profession that patients with acne vulgaris are intolerant to carbohydrates in general. Although this belief may still be held by many, there has been considerable evidence brought forward in the past decade which tends to refute such a belief. A brief summary of the literature covering the evolution of this question from the dermatologic point of view is in order. Schwartz and his associates 1 reported in 1916 a series of 30 cases of acne in 50 per cent of which he found marked or borderline hyperglycemia. In 1922 Levin and Kahn 2 reported the results of an extended biochemical study on acne, in which they discovered no significant changes in the urea, nonprotein nitrogen, creatinine or calcium content of the blood or the dextrose tolerance. Twenty-nine per cent of 34 patients showed a value for the