The Obsidian Impediment - Comedones

Abstract

Comedones appear as blackheads and whiteheads and implicate cutaneous zones with dense sebaceous follicles, particularly the face, upper chest or dorsal torso. Acne vulgaris is frequently enunciated with comedones. Hyper-proliferation and aberrant desquamation of ductal keratinocytes is enunciated which impedes sebum exudation within a pilo-sebaceous duct, thus engendering comedones. Also, a prototypicpilo-sebaceous duct unit metamorphoses into a comedone when progenitor component of the sebaceous glands differentiate into epithelial-like cells.“Micro-comedone theory” cogitates acne configuration as “comedogenesis” which is contingent to androgen secretion, hyper-proliferating keratinocytes with accumulation of keratin and sebum within the pilo-sebaceous unit. Hyperkeratinisation is also due to secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin -1 alpha (IL-1α) produced as a result of cutaneous colonization of Propionibacterium acnes.