الفهرس 
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Abstract
One of the most prevalent skin conditions treated by dermatologists is acne vulgaris. Mostly it affects adolescents but it is not uncommon in adults and children. Acne scars originating from acne are usually the major prolonged concern of patients because they remain permanently. The presence of acne scars can cause both severe cosmetic problems and psychosocial dysfunction, thereby resulting in huge negative impacts on patients’ quality of life.
Although the pathophysiology of acne scarring is still unknown, various theories have been proposed. Prevention remains a primary strategy for acne scarring.
Isotretinoin is a remarkably efficacious treatment of moderate to severe acne. Activin A has been identified as a crucial regulator of wound healing and skin carcinogenesis by many studies. Many studies support its role in scarring and fibrosis.
This study aimed to evaluate the value of human activin A in acne vulgaris patients and its possible predictive role in post-acne scarring in addition to studying the effect of oral retinoids on human activin A serum levels in acne patients.
The study was conducted on sixty subjects selected from the attendants of the Dermatology Outpatient Clinic of the Main University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine at the University of Alexandria.
Twenty with active acne without scarring, twenty patients with post-acne scarring of duration, not more than six months, and twenty normal age and sex-matched persons, serving as a control group were recruited.
Exclusion criteria were pregnant and lactating women, hepatic and renal patients, history of allergy, atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, mycosis fungoids, other Malignancies, and hyperlipidemic patients.
Measurement of serum human activin A levels was done by using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for all participants. Active acne patients were treated with oral isotretinoin therapy (0.