Rosacea

Rosacea is a common, inflammatory condition of the facial skin that affects approximately 14 million Americans, and is associated with significant social and economic morbidity.  Patients suffering from Rosacea often exhibit excessive, preferential redness on the cheeks, nose, chin or forehead, small visible blood vessels on the face, bumps or pimples on the face, and/or watery or irritated eyes in the case of ocular rosacea.  Rosacea most typically starts after age 30 and tends to have an alternating course of flare-ups and remissions.  Rosacea can occur on other parts of the body as well, such as the neck, chest, scalp or ears.  Severe, untreated rosacea can lead to swollen, uneven, excess tissue on the nose, called rhinophyma.

Rosacea can affect all skin types, but is most common in fair skinned individuals. Men and woman are probably affected equally though typically the disease is more advanced by the time of diagnosis in men, most likely due to delay in treatment.

There is no cure for rosacea and its cause is not known.  However, current medical and procedure-based therapy can provide some measure of symptomatic relief and a more favorable long-term outcome.  Yet, there remains a substantial unmet need for a product with improved efficacy (www.rosacea.org).