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A high frequency of fatty food and tea intake appear to be risk factors for rosacea, while dairy products seem to be beneficial for patients with the condition, according to results of a multicenter, retrospective, case-control study published in the Journal of Dermatology.

The investigators sought to evaluate the potential relationship between rosacea and diet among a large Chinese population of patients with the disorder, thus helping to provide dietary guidelines for individuals with rosacea. The feeding frequency 2 years before the development of the condition was obtained via the use of standardized questionnaires. Risk factors linked to diet were calculated through the use of multiple logistic regression analysis.

Click here to find out more about the study.

Credit: dermatologyadvisor.com

Photodynamic Therapy for actinic keratosis (AKs) is a treatment performed throughout the world and is considered the gold standard for  treating pre -cancerous cells in many countries including Australia. It has gained popularity in  the U.S. and Europe and now in Canada as the number of patients being diagnosed with AKs continues to rise.

So what is PDT? And how does it work? Actinic keratosis are pink scaly or rough lesions on the skin, most often found in areas that are often “sun kissed” such as the forehead, nose and upper cheeks, and on the scalp for men. Patients can experience AKs anywhere though, as we have treated legs, arms (especially back of hands), and chest as well. These lesions are not only an eyesore, but can be itchy and sometimes sore as well. At this stage, they are pre-cancerous cells and may or may not turn cancerous at a later date. PDT also works on Basal Cell Carcinoma (lesions that have already turned cancerous) when used with the medicine Metvix.

After diagnosis, the patient can start the treatment whenever they can schedule the time. Metvix is often covered by the patient’s drug plan, and occasionally the treatment is too. When you come in for treatment, you will be prepped for Metvix application by removing any crusty, scaly lesions so that the medication applied can seep in deeper into the skin. There is no discomfort when the medication is applied. For indoor activation, the area is occluded and the patient will relax here or at home for 2-3 hours while the medication incubates. In the summer, outdoor activation is an option where the patient goes and sits outside for the incubation period (2-3 hours).

The indoor activation is treated with a laser designed for this treatment. It takes about 10 minutes to do. The treated area gets very hot during this time, but a multitude of cooling options are applied for comfort. For the outdoor activation, the patient does not need the laser as part of the service, so after removing the medication, they are ready to go home. In both cases, the patient has sunscreen applied and is told to go home and stay in low level lighting for the next 48 hours. Exposure to bright lights or the sun during this time can reactivate the medication and cause side effects from over-treating, which of course is not recommended.

Redness and / or scaling after treatment will vary for each patient, but, to be safe, assume 5-7 days before the skin is completely back to normal. That doesn’t mean you can’t go out or work out or go to work. It does mean that for 2 days after treatment, you should avoid all bright lights, but after that, a little make up or concealer will usually help.

The current protocol is 1-2 treatment sessions, followed by an annual maintenance treatment in most cases.

This treatment is safe and very effective, and helps minimize the risk of skin cancers and surgery, scarring or long-term downtime. When performed at a professional dermatology facility such as Toronto Dermatology Centre, your treatment may be covered under a drug plan, or extended health plan, or both.

Book your consultation today.

~ Sheri Roselle, Medical Esthetician at Toronto Dermatology Centre

With all the headlines Botox is making lately for new uses, we felt it was time for a roundup. Here’s a rundown of all it can do, from smoothing away wrinkles, to helping fight opioid addiction.

Check it out:

1. Fix your frown lines.

Or “11’s,” the vertical lines between your eyebrows. Botox is also great for crow’s feet, those crinkly lines around the eyes that you get when you smile (and as you get older, they’re often there even when you’re not smiling). And surprise! You might have thought Botox was already approved for forehead wrinkles, but it just got the FDA’s thumbs-up this year, so we can all leave the furrowed brow beyond.

2. Non-surgical forehead lift.

One of the newest off-label uses for Botox is a non-surgical forehead lift. A doctor in Israel recently published a study on how botulinum injections to the hairline can lengthen the forehead. Although it’s not permanent, the procedure offers an alternative to surgery.

3. Soften a harsh jawline.

Botox is also used off-label by doctors to soften the jawline and reduce vertical neck bands.

4. Alleviate depression and social anxiety.

Botox may be able to help with depression and social anxiety. How? Researchers are findingthat the nerves between the brows can also stimulate parts of the brain overactive in depression, and that Botox can relax those muscles.

5. Lessen severe underarm sweating.

Or hyperhidrosis, is an FDA-approved use of Botox. But did you know it can also be used for a sweaty scalp? Injecting Botox into the scalp, dubbed “Blowtox,” can extend your blowout, even through that next SoulCycle class.

6. Ease chronic migraines.

Botox is approved for chronic migraines in adults who have 15 or more headache days per month. New research suggests it may also help with kids and teens. Researchers at the University of California recently presented results of a pilot study, according to this report in Time.

7. Treat acne.

Can Botox help with acne? Dr. Anil Shah, a Chicago facial plastic surgeon, has published the first study on using Botox to treat acne.

8. Stop jaw clenching and teeth grinding.

Are you a chronic jaw clencher or tooth grinder? Dentists call that “bruxing,” and it’s really bad for your teeth. Another benefit of injecting Botox into the muscle is that it stops the clenching and grinding. For more info, read this Q&A with doctors on RealSelf.

9. Relax an overactive bladder.

Below the neckline, Botox is also FDA-approved for treating overactive bladder. Botox injections cause the bladder to relax, reducing urinary incontinence, according to this consumer update from the FDA.

10. Rejuvenate “down there.”

Another below-the-belt use is for men only. Gents concerned about the appearance of their scrotum can get an off-label treatment called “Scrotox.” Yes, it’s what it sounds like. Dr. John Mesa, a New York City plastic surgeon, is one doctor on RealSelf who offers this treatment. If you can’t wait to learn more, you can read this review by a person on RealSelf .

11. Relieve pain without opioids.

You might be thinking, “Can’t get any stranger than that,” but the next thing this superdrug does might be … solving the opioid epidemic? Scientists at biotech firm Bonti are testing a pain-relieving neurotoxin similar to Botox as an alternative to opioid pain medications, according to this report from Quartz Media.

Article from RealSelf.com

People with the most fatal type of skin cancer who have a history of smoking are 40 percent less likely to survive their disease than people who have never smoked, according to a new study from the UK.

There are around 180,000 cases of melanoma in the U.S. per year and although it has a good chance of survival if detected early, it still kills over 9,000 Americans annually.

The study published today in the journal Cancer Research and funded by Cancer Research UK looked at more than 700 patients with melanoma and found that smokers were 40 per cent less likely to survive the disease than people who have never smoked.

“It has been reported that smoking can have an effect on immunity and can have direct effects on cancer cells,” said Julia Newton-Bishop, Professor of dermatology at the University of Leeds and lead author of the study.

The scientists looked at the patterns of genes expressed in the tumors and in a subset of 156 patients who had the strongest genetic signal for immune cells within the tumor, smokers were around four and a half times less likely to survive from the cancer than people who had never smoked.

The genetic signals indicated that  the number of the immune cells in the tumors was similar in smokers and non-smokers but in smokers the presence of immune cells didn’t give the same survival benefit.

“The immune system is like an orchestra, with multiple pieces. This research suggests that smoking might disrupt how it works together in tune, allowing the musicians to continue playing but possibly in a more disorganized way,” said Newton-Bishop.

The immune cells seem to have entered the tumors to attempt to tackle them as expected, but the patients don’t appear to benefit from this, leading the researchers to suspect that smoking might be affecting their function.

“The result is that smokers could still mount an immune response to try and destroy the melanoma, but it appears to have been less effective than in never-smokers, and smokers were less likely to survive their cancer,” said Newton-Bishop.

Smoking has been reported to have an adverse effect on the immune system, but it isn’t exactly known which chemicals in tobacco currently cause this. Although the scientists strongly suspect that smoking is responsible for these adverse effects on the immune system and hence reduced survival from melanoma, they can’t currently prove this for certain.

“This study asked all participants about a number of different exposures and smoking was found to be strongly associated with survival. While we can’t exclude the possibility that the effect seen with smoking is actually attributable to a different behavior, that behavior would have to be very strongly related to smoking,” said Newton-Bishop.

The new findings provide yet another reason to add to the seemingly endless list of health concerns as to why people should give up smoking, particularly those who have been diagnosed with malignant melanoma, but is there any difference between people with melanoma who used to smoke and those who currently do?

“Our data could not differentiate with confidence between the effect of past smoking and current smoking; to distinguish would require a much larger study, with smokers who quit at different times before their melanoma diagnosis. Based on these findings, stopping smoking should be strongly recommended for people diagnosed with melanoma,” said Newton-Bishop.

Article by Victoria Forster, from forbes.com

Although there are many options for antiaging and scar treatments available at medical clinics these days, there are few that are as safe, effective and without down time such as the automated Micro Needling, also known as Collagen Induction Therapy or Accelerated Collagen Stimulation (ACS).

The concept of using a micropen instead of the original Dermaroller allows the microneedles to go straight into the skin from an upright position, as opposed to coming in at an angle when the roller is moving along the skin’s surface. The pressure applied is more consistent than when treating manually with the roller, and although outcome can be excellent with both options, the automated version simply eliminates variables that can weaken the end result.

Two versions of microneedling exist, and many different pens are on the market. It is important to be sure that the Micropen (or needle) has been approved by Heath Canada, as many versions, even some of those being used at clinics today, and of course all that are being sold on sites like Amazon, do not meet the health standards approved by our National health board. The ACS pen is commonly treated by infusing a layer of hyaluronic acid (HA) directly into the skin, very similar to aerating the lawn. By creating micro-holes in the skin and allowing HA to penetrate the skin into the top layers of the dermis, we are helping to create new collagen while adding improved texture and volume via the HA. Over time, and after several treatments, smoother skin, added volume and an overall healthier skin is observed. Scars will appear smaller, raised or recessed scars will start to even out, and fine lines and wrinkles will be smoother.

The second version is a cross between regular microneedling and The Vampire Facelift, where your own plasma is infused back into your skin and therefore increasing the collagen production from about 200% with regular microneedling (which is still pretty amazing) to up to 1000%!!z

In both cases, there is little to no downtime, discomfort is minimal, and although it does take time for results to show with any collagen inducing treatment (usually about 2 months), the results are actually pretty amazing. Every patient will experience the results in a different way, with younger patients seeing results sooner and those with scars seeing results more obvious than those who are treating for anti-aging benefits. Like any treatment, proper home care and use of sunscreen will only help to bump up the results.

I have seen some incredible results with stretch marks as well. I definitely recommend treating them with the PRP version in conjunction with a topical product called Stratamark.

Finally, at our Toronto Dermatology Centre, we are also treating patients with Profractional laser and infusing the plasma into the skin. Although this isn’t microneedling, it is done by treating at low microns and multiple passes to create more of a micropeel effect, but due to the number of passes and the depth of the treatment, the patient should experience advanced results without the downtime normally associated with regular settings of profractional laser. The plasma is easily infused into the skin with each pass and again at the end of the treatment. A bronzing effect covers the skin, but without downtime other than the slight pink/ brown colour fading out daily.

What treatment suits your needs best?

~ Sheri Roselle, Medical Esthetician at Toronto Dermatology Centre

Growing up in Philadelphia and Queens, New York, I wasn’t really an outdoorsy type of child. I spent a lot of time in the dance studio doing ballet, tap and jazz. I did go to Greece every summer, which is where my family is originally from, and I spent a lot of time in the sun on the beaches there. I have that Mediterranean olive skin, and I tanned well. Still, I always used sunscreen, so I don’t remember having many bad sunburns.

After I moved to Manhasset, Long Island, when I was in middle school, I started using tanning beds. I was captain of the cheerleading team, and I just enjoyed being tan. Everyone was going to the tanning salon 10 years ago, especially before events like the prom. There was a place just down the block, and it was a very common thing to do.

I always had moles on my body, and I learned that we had a family risk of skin cancer, on both sides. My grandfather was diagnosed with a melanoma on his face when I was 22, and that scared me. I started having skin exams with a dermatologist myself. I even had a few biopsies, and I learned about what to look for in skin cancer.

When I saw a spot on my right abdomen in the summer of 2016, when I was 25, I noticed that it was growing. I know what my moles look like, and this one seemed to be getting bigger and bigger. It just looked funny to me, different from the others. Then, when I scratched it one day, it bled. I remembered that’s what had happened to my grandpa. I said, “This isn’t right” and made an appointment with dermatologist Deborah S. Sarnoff, MD, since she had handled my grandfather’s case.

After getting the results of a biopsy, Dr. Sarnoff called us in: me, my dad and my mom, to tell us it was a malignant melanoma. And it was thick enough to cause some concern that it might have gone into my lymph nodes. She sent me to a surgical oncologist at NYU Langone Medical Center, who removed the tumor and a lymph node under my right arm. Lucky for me, there was no cancer detected in the lymph node. Dr. Sarnoff said I had saved my own life by coming in, and if I’d waited any longer, it would have been much worse. Now I go for follow-ups every three months. They have me on high alert! I know they’re looking out for me. I realize how important it is to stay on top of it because I wouldn’t want to go through that again!

I shared on my Instagram, “Probably one of the scariest sit-down conversations you can have with your doctor. Scary for you, scary for your family. I am a big advocate for early detection. Black, white, Asian, MEDITERRANEAN… it can happen to any one of us. No one is as safe or protected as we thought. The sun is strong; we’ve depleted the Earth’s ozone layers. Melanoma can spread to your lymph nodes in less than six weeks. If I’d waited, this could have happened to me. It’s simple: Use sunscreen. Don’t go into tanning beds. Be aware of your family’s history. Visit a dermatologist. Save your own life.”

My scar is pretty big. (Yes, that’s me in the photo at the top.) At first it was kind of upsetting to look at. But now it’s a part of me. I don’t mind it. My genetics probably played a role, but studies show that even one time in a tanning bed elevates your risk of melanoma. So now I just want to tell young women who feel like they don’t look good without being tan, just be comfortable in your own skin, literally. Just be your natural self.

*All photos courtesy of Elli Karagiannis

Originally posted on Sun & Skin News by The Skin Cancer Foundation

Over the last 30 years, the science of chemical peeling has evolved dramatically, improving our understanding of the role of peeling ingredients and their potential to treat acne and acne scarring.