[On the influence of a special preparation of oxytetracycline and sodiumbituminosulfonates on amount and composition of skin surface lipids in acne vulgaris (author's transl)].

Two groups of 27 and 23 patients with acne vulgaris were first treated for a period of one week with 1 g oxytetracycline a day p.o. In a second treatment period of 6 weeks the first group received 100 mg oxytetracycline a day p.o. and the second group a combination of 100 mg oxytetracycline and 1.2 g sodiumbituminosulfonates a day p.o. In the third treatment period, similarly continued for 6 weeks, the method was reversed. Gastric juice-insoluble preparations were used for the investigation. All criteria for a double-blind study were considered. Amount and composition of the skin surface lipids were analysed before beginning the treatment, at the end of the 2nd and at the end of the 3rd treatment period. The combination of both agents in gastric juice-insoluble preparations suppresses to a great extent the known effects brought about by the substances separately, namely the reduction in free fatty acids and the decrease in the skin surface lipids. The findings also show that the reduction of the free fatty acids was in a limited time observed only in patients treated with 100 mg oxytetracycline a day p.o. if they had been treated in the beginning of this therapy with a higher dosage of tetracycline.