According to Thomas Jansen, MD and Gerd Plewig, MD, "there is no direct
evidence that rosacea is primarily a vascular disorder." This to me is news
since I have been hearing for so long that rosacea is primarily a vascular
disorder.

Here is part of what the article says:

"The pathogenesis of rosacea thus remains obscure. What is certain, however,
is that rosacea patients are constitutionally predisposed to blushing and
flushing. The basic abnormality seems to be a microcirculatory disturbance
of the function of the facial angular veins. Statistical associations between
rosacea-related flushing and migraine suggest a shared disorder of vascular
regulation but there is no direct evidence that rosacea is primarily a vascular
disorder. The response of the facial vessels to adrenaline, histamine and
acetylcholine is normal, and the vessels do not seem abnormally fragile so
the main abnormality is probably in the dermis surrounding blood vessels
rather than in vessel walls. In addition, the distribution of rosacea is not
identical with the flush area. A very important background feature is
sun damage. Rosacea is always associated with solar elastosis and often with
heliodermatosis. Fair-skinned patients with rosacea type I will often give a
history of sun sensitivity. " > Rosacea: classification and treatment,
Thomas Jansen, MD and Gerd Plewig, MD

source >

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/picrender.fcgi?artid=1296179&blobtype=pdf

html version >

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1296179

For more information on the cause of rosacea go to this url >

http://www.rosaceans.com/html/cause.html

Dr. Plewig is a member of the Medical Advisory Committee for the RRDi >

http://www.irosacea.org/mac.php