New research funded by the National Rosacea Society has found that certain molecular receptors and their activators may play a significant role in producing the redness, visible blood vessels and inflammation of rosacea.

A receptor is a structure in human cells that binds with particular activating substances in the body to trigger certain reactions or responses. Dysfunction of receptors often leads to disease. Accordingly, identification of the mechanisms of these processes, which may then be adjusted, often leads to important therapeutic advances.

The National Rosacea Society (NRS) has awarded funding for six new studies as part of its research grants program to advance scientific knowledge of potential causes and other key aspects of this chronic and often life-disruptive disorder that affects an estimated 14 million Americans.

Medical scientists from around the world heard updated reports on advances in the understanding of the potential causes and other key aspects of rosacea at the National Rosacea Society (NRS) research workshop held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Society for Investigative Dermatology in St. Louis. The NRS conducts the annual workshop to promote interest in rosacea research and to share new information from ongoing studies.

Results from previous research funded by the National Rosacea Society have led investigators Dr. Richard Granstein and colleagues at the Cornell University Medical School to focus in their current study on adenosine triphosphate (ATP), a natural substance in the body that may play a key role in the flushing, telangiectasia and bumps and pimples of rosacea.

The National Rosacea Society announced that five new studies have been awarded funding as part of its research grants program to advance scientific knowledge of this widespread but poorly understood disorder that affects an estimated 14 million Americans.

Five new studies of rosacea have been awarded funding as part of the National Rosacea Society's research grants program to advance scientific and medical understanding of this widespread but poorly understood facial disorder, estimated to affect 14 million Americans.

Whether certain proteins made by the immune system may trigger the onset of rosacea is the subject of a study sponsored by a National Rosacea Society research grant and conducted by Dr. Richard Gallo, associate professor of dermatology and pediatrics at the University of California - San Diego and Dr. Masamoto Murakami, postdoctoral scientist, Veterans Medical Research Center. While acting to protect the body, the proteins also may trigger some of rosacea's symptoms, the researchers hypothesize.

The National Rosacea Society announced that new studies of rosacea have been selected for funding as part of its research grants program to support the advancement of scientific knowledge of this poorly understood and often life-disruptive facial disorder.

Sun exposure appears to trigger a substance in the body that may lead to the visible blood vessels that often appear with rosacea, according to research funded by the National Rosacea Society and reported at the annual meeting of the Society for Investigative Dermatology.

"Our initial study showed that sunlight may indeed have a role in causing rosacea," said Dr. Marita Kosmadaki, research fellow, Department of Dermatology, Boston University, who presented results of her research with Dr. Mina Yaar, professor of dermatology at Boston University.

The National Rosacea Society announced that four new studies of rosacea have been selected for funding as part of its research grants program to encourage and support the advancement of scientific knowledge of this widespread but poorly understood facial disorder.

"We are pleased that the number of grant applications has continued to increase since the awarding of the first grants from this important new program last year," said Dr. Jonathan Wilkin, chairman of the Society's medical advisory board, which reviewed and selected the grant applications for funding.