Have a big social event tomorrow night and need “emergency Botox”? A new study finds that if you get the wrinkle-relaxing shots today, you can speed up the effect by making faces.
Simple facial exercises can speed the wrinkle-smoothing effects of botulinum toxin (Botox), according to researchers from Northwestern University in Chicago.
Check out the full article here.
Credit: HealthDay.com
Rosamond Turner, 25, from Toronto dealt with psoriasis for most of her adult life. Her outbreaks got so bad that her face turned itchy, red and scaly. It caused her so much anxiety that she couldn’t finish her application to a master’s degree program in social work.
She even avoided leaving the house for months at a time so she didn’t have to face a world of people staring at her.
Essentially, your immune system is overactive, triggering an overproduction of cells. Those cells then reach the surface of the skin and die. This creates a buildup, which can appear anywhere on the body.
Patches can be small or very large and sometimes they are found on the scalp, elbows or knees. The exact cause of the condition is unknown.
For Turner, she has been able to control her outbreaks with a treatment called phototherapy.
Phototherapy is a treatment for psoriasis that uses light to penetrate the skin and slow down the growth of skin cells, according to psoriasis.org. This involves exposing the skin to an artificial UVB light in a machine, which sort of looks like a tanning bed, for a scheduled period of time.
However, a new report by the Canadian Association of Psoriasis Patients highlights the barriers Canadians face in getting access to this treatment.
Click here to read the full article.
Credit: Global News
Topic: Managing flares & new therapies
We’re entering a new era in eczema care as research breakthroughs lead to new therapies and better understanding of the disease.
Please join us and our guest speaker, expert dermatologist
Dr. Melinda Gooderham, as she gives her guidance on managing flares and updates us on new therapies.
Dr. Gooderham will also stay online after her talk to answer your questions, so please feel free to submit them ahead of time, or during the webinar through the GoToWebinar platform. We look forward to you joining us!
The event is free and available across Canada to everyone! You will need a computer, smart phone, or tablet that will allow the GoToWebinar APP or software, and please test your system and download the APP ahead of time. You can check your system requirements when you register.
WHEN:
Wednesday, November 7, 2018
7:00 – 8:00 PM EST
PRESENTER:
Dr. Melinda Gooderham
Dermatologist, Clinical Researcher
Leading Canadian Dermatologist
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar and downloading the APP or software to attend.
Women in treatment for skin diseases, including psoriasis, experience higher levels of non-psychotic psychiatric disorders, including anxiety and depression, than men. Identifying these conditions earlier can not only improve their quality of life, but it can also reduce the dermatological impact, according to recently published research.
Credit: DermatologyTimes
For years in the skin-care world, dirty skin equaled bad skin — even to the point of overcleansing. But recent science has turned the squeaky-clean axiom on its head as new research about the power of your skin’s microbiome makes a case for getting dirty. Now, a new study shows that skin bacteria might even help protect against skin cancer.
In a study published in Science Advances in February, researchers identified a strain of bacteria commonly found on healthy human skin that might play a role in inhibiting the growth of some cancers. “This unique strain of skin bacteria produces a chemical that kills several types of cancer cells but does not appear to be toxic to normal cells,” Richard Gallo, chair of the department of dermatology at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, and an author on the study, said in a statement.
Click here to read more.
Credit: Allure.com
A recent review by the National Psoriasis Foundation’s medical board suggests that adults with psoriasis and/or psoriatic arthritis (PsA) may use dietary interventions to supplement standard medical therapies to reduce disease severity.
GLUTEN-FREE DIET
Patients with psoriasis have increased risk of serum antibodies that are used to screen for celiac disease; higher antibody levels are associated with greater psoriasis severity. For patients who have undergone duodenal biopsy to confirm the presence of celiac disease, research shows that a gluten-free diet reduces psoriasis severity and gastrointestinal symptoms. Therefore, study authors strongly recommend a gluten-free diet for this patient group. For patients who test positive for serologic markers of gluten sensitivity regardless of duodenal biopsy results, authors suggest a three-month trial of a gluten-free diet as adjunctive therapy. “It’s important to note that we don’t recommend screening all patients with psoriasis for these serologic markers of gluten sensitivity. That’s because there can be false positives with these tests, and the evidence is still relatively weak in this area,” said lead author Adam R. Ford. He is a fourth-year medical student and research fellow at the University of Southern California.
MEDITERRANEAN DIET
In one survey, 86 percent of patients with psoriasis reported having tried special diets to improve their disease. However, data showing a relationship as between dietary patterns and disease severity are limited and conflicting. Review authors concluded that based on low-quality evidence, adults with psoriasis may consider trying a Mediterranean diet, and consuming extra-virgin olive oil as the main culinary lipid, along with eating at least two servings of vegetables and three servings of fruit daily, plus legumes, seafood and tree nuts at least three times weekly. Also based on low-quality evidence, patients may consider consuming more omega-3 PUFAs, monounsaturated fatty acids and fruit or complex carbohydrates, while consuming fewer calories, simple carbohydrates, saturated fatty acids and PUFAs (total and in particular omega-6 PUFAs).
Ford et al. do not recommend or found insufficient evidence to make recommendations regarding the following interventions for psoriasis:
Researchers recommend weight reduction via hypocaloric diet here because studies show that patients with PsA who start treatment with TNF blockers (etanercept, adalimumab or infliximab) are significantly more likely to achieve minimal arthritis activity and weight loss after a six-month hypocaloric diet than after a regular diet. Based on uncontrolled studies, authors also recommend a trial of oral vitamin D supplementation (0.5 µg alfacalcidol or 0.5-2.0 µg calcitriol daily) as adjunctive therapy. Ford et al. do not recommend fish oil supplementation or selenium supplementation for PsA in adults.
“Prior to the review,” said Mr. Ford, “few studies had summarized literature regarding diet and psoriasis. So if patients were to ask their provider if there’s anything they can do about their diet that might help their psoriasis, providers were unable to give patients any evidence-based advice. Armed with the study’s findings, providers can now begin to answer those questions.”
The review included a total of 77,557 participants, of which 4,534 had psoriasis. Authors performed a systematic literature review using the MEDLINE database and examined literature identified by prior systematic reviews to select 55 studies for analysis.
The study’s main limitation is that researchers could only make recommendations based on currently available evidence, which leaves many unanswered questions. “Until we get better primary studies in these areas, we won’t have answers for those questions.”
Article from Dermatology Times
One of the few good things about acne is that it hardly discriminates: With some variation, it afflicts people of all races and income levels, from all regions and countries. Acne is the eighth-most-common disease globally, affecting roughly two out of three people ages 15 to 19.
Another one of the good things? Acne may contribute to better grades and longer-term academic success, according to a forthcoming peer-reviewed study in the Journal of Human Capital by the economists Hugo Mialon and Erik Nesson, of Emory University and Ball State University, respectively.
Check out the full story here.
Credit: theatlantic.com
As the incidence of adult acne rises to “epidemic proportions,” pimple products designed for grown-ups — acne patches, among them — are quickly catching on.
…In Dr. Bowe’s own practice, she said that the fraction of adult female patients with acne jumped from “significant” five years ago to “half of them” three years ago. Today, it’s nearly all of them — to the point that the rare woman without acne is notable.
Click here for the full article.
Credit: New York Times
Catherine Lewis discovered a mole on her foot and her gut told her it was skin cancer, but her doctor thought it was something else. 9 months later and after mutiple visits she was finally diagnosised with stage 4 melanoma, and today Catherine is still battling with cancer. Click here for the full story.
Credit: Women’s Health Magazine
