Archea and Rosacea

[Guide]

Methanobrevibacter smithii image courtesy of Cedars Sinai

Bacteria has been implicated in rosacea with a huge amount of clinical papers on this subject. Demodex is now without a doubt linked to a significant number of rosacea cases. At least one fungus has been associated with rosacea, and we have papers indicating treatment for one particular protozoa improves rosacea, however virus has not been ruled out in rosacea.

The human microbiome includes the skin which contains a number of different microbes. [1] One microbe that has generally been totally ignored is archea, which has never been ruled out as having anything to do with rosacea. 

Archea and Rosacea

"Methanobrevibacter smithii is the predominant archaeon in the human gut."

The general public has little if any knowledge of this microbe which has been known to exist in the human microbiome for some time now. "Archaea are a major part of Earth's life. They are part of the microbiota of all organisms. In the human microbiota, they are important in the gut, mouth, and on the skin. They may play roles in the carbon cycle and the nitrogen cycle." [2] The chief reason that archea is basically totally ignored as having anything to do with rosacea is that there is no known archea human pathogen. Furthermore, due to the bias the scientific community has towards bacteria which focuses research on bacteria ignoring most of the other microbes, including archea, little is known about archea.   

"A deeper knowledge of human microbiome composition and microbe-host interactions will contribute to clarify the mechanism of development of rosacea and possibly will provide innovative therapeutic approaches." [3]

Basically we have no idea what role archea plays in the skin microbiome due to a lack of investigation into this subject. Hence, little is known of what role archea may play in rosacea. There is absolutely no motive to investigate this since who would fund such a study? Hopefully someday some research will discover the role archea plays in the human microbiome and whatever revelations are discovered may alter our understanding of archea. 

Do you want to fund such a study? Could 10K members of the RRDi get together and each donate one dollar to fund such a study? Only with your help could we reach such a goal. Think about it. [4]

End Notes

[1] "Microorganisms inhabiting superficial skin layers are known as skin microbiota and include bacteria, viruses, archaea and fungi."
Future Microbiol. 2013 Feb;8(2):209-22. doi: 10.2217/fmb.12.141.
Skin microbiota: overview and role in the skin diseases acne vulgaris and rosacea.
Murillo N, Raoult D.

"In the GI tract, the microbiome is made up of trillions of microbes including bacteria and other microbes such as fungi and archaea. The skin is also colonized by an equally complex microbiome that varies with host genetic and environmental influences. Emerging research suggests that the collection of microbial communities that populate the skin and GI tract, rather than single microorganisms alone, is responsible for disease."
Dermatol Pract Concept. 2017;7(4):31–37. Published 2017 Oct 31. doi:10.5826/dpc.0704a08
Diet and rosacea: the role of dietary change in the management of rosacea
Emma Weiss and Rajani Katta

"Human skin hosts a diverse ecosystem of bacteria, fungi, viruses, mites, and archaea." 
Skin Microbiota and Your Health, by Chris Kresser, Kresser Institute

[2] Archea, Wikipedia

[3] Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology 48 Suppl 1, Proceedings From The 7th Probiotics, Prebiotics & New Foods Meeting Held In Rome On September 8-10, 2013:S85-S86 · November 2014; DOI: 10.1097/MCG.0000000000000241 
Skin Microbiome and Skin Disease The Example of Rosacea
Mauro Picardo

[4] More thoughts on this subject to think about:
Rosacea Research in Perspective of Funding
Rosacea Research in Perspective of Idiopathic Diseases