Category: Our Blog

Our very own Dr. Benjamin Barankin was quoted by Global News about the impact of winter weather on acne.

Dealing with dry skin in the winter is one thing, but for some, the season also means more acne.

Dr. Benjamin Barankin, dermatologist and medical director of Toronto Dermatology Centre, told Global News the sun has some anti-inflammatory and immunosuppression effects.

“Some modest sun exposure in the spring, summer, [and] fall can be helpful for acne,” he explained. “Also, when the air is dry like [it is] in winter, the facial skin secretes more sebum and oil to lubricate the skin … which can result in more acne.”
 
Dr. Ellen Marmur told Women’s Health magazine cold air during winter months also has less moisture than the rest of the seasons. And when this cold air hits our face, it rips away natural surface lipids which act as a layer of protection.
 
“It’s a whole lot easier for bacteria to get in — and that means you can say hello to zits,” the magazine added.
 

Skincare routine in the winter

And as the season changes, you may want to consider changing your skincare routine in general, Barankin said.

For starters, only use gentle cleansers and avoid using bars of soap on your face. After you wash your face, pat try and immediately after apply a moisturizer.

“In the summer or more humid weather, a lotion is sufficient,” he continued. “In the winter, look for something a little bit thicker like a cream.”

Skin hydration is also key — and this doesn’t mean getting enough water.

“Make sure to have a central humidifier or bedroom cool mist humidifier as well to keep the skin well hydrated,” he explained. “Consider minimizing dehydrating agents like caffeine and alcohol in the winter, and avoiding windy days by staying indoors to avoid windburn.”
 

Can we really prevent acne in the winter?

And while it is impossible to prevent acne altogether (acne can be caused by mix of stress, dietary factors and changing hormones), there are ways to maintain it.

Good, gentle skin care is key Barankin, and if necessary, over-the-counter benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid based products can be quite helpful.

“Medicated creams, gels and/or pills from your dermatologist can effectively treat and prevent acne if the acne is more extensive or severe.”

And whatever you do, don’t play with, pop or squeeze your pimples. “Treat acne quickly and properly with guidance from your dermatologist to clear the acne faster and to avoid scarring.”

And if you are unsure if the products you are currently using are helping your skin, bring your products to a professional.

“I always ask patients to bring in their products and extensively review their skincare to ensure they are not contributing to acne. Then the typical treatment algorithm is topical treatments, and possibly systemic treatments, peels, blue light treatment and photodynamic therapy,” Dr. Lisa Kellett of DLK on Avenue of Toronto, told Global News earlier this year.

Arizona-based dermatologist Dr. Jennifer Linder previously told Teen Vogue wearing sunscreen can also help. “Snow reflects 80 per cent of the sun’s rays while sand and water only reflect 10 per cent and 15 per cent.”

The magazine also recommended avoiding alcohol-based toners and irritating scrubs. Instead, find something with alpha hydroxy acids. “These even out skin tone and rid skin of surface build-up, preventing pores from getting congested without spreading bacteria like physical exfoliators can.”

Portrait of beautiful young woman getting botox cosmetic injection in her face.

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

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar and downloading the APP or software to attend.

female nurse working in medical laboratoryWomen 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.

Existing research shows anxiety and depression occur frequently in patients with skin conditions. But, based on new study findings published in the European Journal of Dermatology, researchers determined if dermatologists administer questionnaires that assess a patient’s possible anxiety and depression levels, they could pinpointing who might benefit from psychological counseling.
Click here for the full article.

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.

Authors strongly recommend the hypocaloric diet for overweight and obese patients with psoriasis, and the gluten-free diet for patients with confirmed celiac disease. Other interventions may help specific patient groups, but authors emphasized that no dietary intervention stands alone. The review appeared online June 20 in JAMA Dermatology.
DIETARY WEIGHT REDUCTION
For patients with psoriasis who are overweight or obese, benefits of a hypocaloric diet (800-1400 kcal daily) include significant improvements in psoriasis severity, dermatologic life quality and weight loss versus consuming a regular diet. However, dietary modifications alone may not suffice for maintaining psoriasis remission. A study in which patients who had maintained remission during 12 weeks’ methotrexate therapy discontinued methotrexate and were randomized to a hypocaloric or regular diet showed that the former did not produce statistically significant differences in maintenance of psoriasis remission. Thus, study authors strongly recommend a hypocaloric diet, based on level A evidence, in conjunction with standard medical therapies.

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:

  • Omega-3 fatty acids/fish oil — Whereas omega-6 PUFAs metabolize into leukotriene B4, an inflammatory mediator that is elevated in psoriatic plaques, metabolites of omega-3 PUFAs oppose its proinflammatory effects. But in seven of nine double-blinded, randomized controlled trials, oral supplementation with fish oil proved ineffective in reducing psoriasis.
  • Micronutrients — A single 34-patient study showed that patients treated with methotrexate and vitamin-mineral supplementation for three months had significantly greater improvement in psoriasis severity than those treated with methotrexate alone.
  • Vitamin D — Studies showing that the severity of plaque and erythrodermic psoriasis can improve after vitamin D supplementation for six months or longer were uncontrolled. And investigators found no clear evidence to support one form of vitamin D over another, or adequate data regarding the effects of vitamin D supplementation in vitamin D-deficient patients with psoriasis.
  • Vitamin B12
  • Selenium

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

Young woman sitting at desk using laptop

High-school students with acne tend to have higher GPAs and are more likely to finish college, according to a new study.

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

Portrait of beautiful young woman removing pimple from her face in a bathroom home.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

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