Who, why, where: an overview of determinants of sunbed use in Europe
It has been well established that exposure to sun beds is a risk factor for skin cancer. Despite this, sunbeds are still commonly used throughout Europe. It is important to understand the determinants of sunbed use and to plan key educational interventions, behavioural strategies and legislative measures, which should be tailored to subgroups with different risk profiles.
According to this article, evidence shows that young adult women with intermediate skin type, current employment and a medium/high socio-economic status are the typical sunbed users in Europe. These young women also display sun-seeking behaviours and other risky behaviours such as smoking.
While Sun bed use appears to be more common in northern than Southern Europe, its use remains common in fair-skinned individuals and among adolescents/pre-adolescents.
The most commonly-reported reasons for sunbed use throughout Europe include aesthetic motives (e.g. to look more attractive), the pursuit of a pre-vacation tan, the influence of peers/parents engaging in the same habit, and the treatment of health conditions.
Sun beds are widely available from a variety of places such as tanning studios, beauty salons, sport venues, such as swimming pools and gyms, hotels and private houses. The authors feel that these factors need to be taken into account when planning educational, behavioural and legislative interventions to reduce the popularity of artificial tanning in Europe.
Relapse of psoriasis in patients who asked to discontinue etanercept after achieving a stable clinical remission
It would appear that discontinuing biological therapies in patients with chronic plaque psoriasis (PsO) is increasing in patients who have achieved complete clinical remission.
The authors of this article state that real life data about the disease course after the discontinuation of biological agents in PsO patients are scared. Those that are available focus primarily on psoriatic arthritis (PsA).
Some of the studies found have investigated the down-titration of biologics in patients with psoriasis and found that adalimumab and etanercept could be down-titrated using longer dosing intervals in the vast majority of stable psoriatic patients without signs of disease relapse.
In was also found that in real life practice, some patients who asked for treatment withdrawal after achieving a stable complete remission for different reasons were worried about adverse events of long-term treatment.
Evolution of the use of antioxidants in anti-aging cosmetics
Anti-aging cosmetics are used to provide individuals with a healthy and youthful appearance. It is widely acknowledged that skin health is essential in beauty.
There are many different cosmetic types of actives and ingredients in skin care, antioxidants being just one of them. Antioxidants are incorporated into anti-aging products due to their beneficial effects in preventing and minimising the signs of skin aging.
This aim of this study was to look at anti-aging formulations, understand how they work and see how they have changed in the past 7 years regarding pure antioxidant composition.
The authors of this study collected data from several anti-aging formulations commercialised in main stores and pharmacies in the Portuguese market. This particular study started in 2011 and was updated with products launched or whose composition has been renewed on 2013, 2015 or 2018.
Ascorbic acid and tocopherol and their derivatives were found to be the most used antioxidants in anti-aging formulations. The authors noted that there are seven ascorbic acid derivatives currently being used in anti-aging formulations, while only three tocopherol derivatives were identified in this study.
Several combinations of antioxidants were consistently found, mainly tocopherol (or tocopherol derivatives) with other antioxidants, and tocopherol with tocopherol derivatives. The authors did not identify emerging antioxidants with great impact in anti-aging formulations, despite the fact that niacinamide and retinyl palmitate exhibited a more than 10% increase in usage in 2018.
The information obtained is deemed relevant by the authors for the cosmetic industry to help provide a better understanding of the scientific based formulation of modern cosmetics and to support the need for innovative antioxidants in anti-aging cosmetics.
Skin cancer: precancers
This article discusses precancers in skin cancer. Actinic keratoses (AK) is a form of common skin lesion, which is caused by cumulative sun exposure. The rate of lesion progression to squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) has been reported to be between 0.025 and 16%. Atypical moles are melanocytic nevi that indicate a higher risk of melanoma and can sometimes (although rarely) transform into malignant melanoma, particularly in patients with dysplastic nevus syndrome or familial atypical multiple mole-melanoma syndrome.
Precancerous lesions can be identified by physical examination, but diagnostic accuracy is enhanced by dermatoscopy. For suspicious lesions where definitive diagnosis is deemed necessary, a biopsy is indicated. The management of AKs is by surgical methods, topical chemotherapeutic drugs, or photodynamic therapy.
Complications of AK include itching, pain, cosmetic concerns and progression to SCC. The management of dysplastic nevi depends on the degree of atypia present. In mild cases, lesions may be observed with positive histologic margins but negative clinical margins. If dysplastic nevi have a high degree of atypia, they should be surgically excised or the patient should be referred to a dermatology subspecialist for further treatment.
Complications of atypical nevi include cosmetic concerns, recurrence, and, in rare cases, progression to melanoma. Monitoring of any precancerous lesions should include patient self-examination, as well as regular follow-up skin examinations with the physician.
Influence of exposure to summer environments on skin properties
According to the authors of this article, there is a lack of evidence and research from cosmetic companies who have launched products to combat extreme environments and various pollutants. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of exposure to outdoor environments during summer on skin properties. In order to do this, the authors enrolled 20 women in their 20s and 40s who were exposed to outdoor and indoor environments for 90 minutes each in July 2016.
Each participant had skin evaluations performed on the face (forehead and cheek) and forearm. Skin hydration level, sebum secretion, trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL), pH, and greasiness were also evaluated by the researchers.
The results showed that skin hydration levels, sebum secretion, TEWL and greasiness in all examined regions were higher after outdoor exposure than after indoor exposure; however, skin pH decreased after outdoor exposure. The results also showed that hydration levels on the forearm and sebum secretion on the face increased, whereas hydration levels and TEWL on the cheek, greasiness in all regions except the cheek, and pH in all regions decreased after the 90-minute outdoor exposure. Hydration levels in all regions except the cheek, sebum secretion, and greasiness on the face increased, but TEWL and pH declined after being indoors.
In conclusion to this study, the authors found that hot environments cause the production of more sweat, increasing hydration levels, sebum secretion, TEWL and greasiness, and reducing skin pH. They also found that after acclimatisation, skin hydration on the cheek decreases due to sweat evaporation. Cosmetics that are marketed for use in summer should be designed to control sweat and sebum secretion, solve related inconveniences and provide moisture, especially on the cheeks.