Do sexual steroids contribute to the pathomechanism of rosacea? A study of estrogen and androgen receptors in acne rosacea.

Estrogen- and androgen receptor levels were investigated in the skin of 11 male and 4 female rosacea patients. No significant difference in receptor distribution or in receptor levels could be found between rosacea lesions and normal skin of the same patients. Moreover, hormone serum levels were in the normal range. Data from the present investigation suggest that rosacea formation is not governed by endocrine, although clinical and electron microscopic observations indicate a possible endocrine influence at the vascular level.