Comparison of different skin care regimens in patients with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis receiving systemic treatment: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: Moderate to severe AD can be successfully managed by systemic treatments. Current guidelines also recommend emollients or emollients 'plus' and eudermic cleansers for all AD patients to improve the skin barrier and provide anti-irritant and anti-pruritic effects.

Objectives: To investigate the efficacy of skin care (in addition to systemic treatment) with an Emollient 'plus' balm designed to improve the skin barrier and skin microbiome plus a corresponding syndet compared to usual commercial emollients and cleansers.

Orally administered mixed carotenoids protect human skin against ultraviolet A-induced skin pigmentation: A double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial.

Background: Photoprotection of human skin is determined as the capacity of sunscreens to prevent ultraviolet (UV) B radiation-induced erythema and UVA radiation-induced pigmentation. It is unequivocal that, in addition to sunscreens, oral supplementation with carotenoids can protect human skin against UVB radiation-induced erythema. It is not known if this is also the case for UVA radiation-induced pigmentation.

Autologous Cell Therapy for Aged Human Skin: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Phase-I Study.

Introduction: Skin ageing involves senescent fibroblast accumulation, disturbance in extracellular matrix (ECM) homeostasis, and decreased collagen synthesis.

Objective: to assess a cell therapy product for aged skin (RCS-01; verum) consisting of ~25 × 106 cultured, autologous cells derived from anagen hair follicle non-bulbar dermal sheath (NBDS).

Methods: For each subject in the verum group, 4 areas of buttock skin were injected intradermally 1 or 3 times at monthly intervals with RCS-01, cryomedium, or needle penetration without injection; in the placebo group RCS-01 was replaced by cryomedium.

Methods to include persons living with HIV not receiving HIV care in the Medical Monitoring Project.

The Medical Monitoring Project (MMP) is an HIV surveillance system that provides national estimates of HIV-related behaviors and clinical outcomes. When first implemented, MMP excluded persons living with HIV not receiving HIV care. This analysis will describe new case-surveillance-based methods to identify and recruit persons living with HIV who are out of care and at elevated risk for mortality and ongoing HIV transmission.

Tomato Phytonutrients Balance UV Response: Results from a Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study.

Background: Our previous double-blinded, placebo-controlled cross-over study indicated that a nutritional supplement named lycopene-rich tomato nutrient complex (TNC) can protect from UVA1-induced (340-400 nm) and UVA- (320-400 nm)/UVB-induced (280-320 nm) upregulation of molecular markers associated with oxidative stress, inflammation, and ageing.

Objectives: in the current double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled multicenter study, we analyze whether a similar, synergistic carotenoid-rich TNC can protect from broadband UVB-induced threshold erythema formation assessed as increase in minimal erythemal dose (MED) reading, the intensity of erythema formation, and the upregulation of molecular markers associated with inflammation and immunosuppression, and whether this correlates with carotenoid blood levels.

Methods: One hundred and forty-nine healthy volunteers were randomized to two groups and subjected to a 5-week washout phase, followed by a 12-week treatment phase receiving either 15 mg lycopene, 5.

Locating People Diagnosed With HIV for Public Health Action: Utility of HIV Case Surveillance and Other Data Sources.

Introduction: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) case surveillance and other health care databases are increasingly being used for public health action, which has the potential to optimize the health outcomes of people living with HIV (PLWH). However, often PLWH cannot be located based on the contact information available in these data sources. We assessed the accuracy of contact information for PLWH in HIV case surveillance and additional data sources and whether time since diagnosis was associated with accurate contact information in HIV case surveillance and successful contact.

French Maritime Pine Bark Extract (Pycnogenol®) Effects on Human Skin: Clinical and Molecular Evidence.

Nutritional strategies to benefit skin health are of growing importance. Current approaches mainly involve nutritional supplements containing antioxidants which were initially designed to protect human skin against ultraviolet radiation-induced damage. Within recent years, however, a growing number of studies suggests that the beneficial effects of these products clearly extend beyond photoprotection.

Effective photoprotection of human skin against infrared A radiation by topically applied antioxidants: results from a vehicle controlled, double-blind, randomized study.

Infrared A radiation (IRA) from solar sunlight contributes to photoaging of human skin, e.g. by upregulating MMP-1 expression in dermal fibroblasts, indicating the need for photoprotection of human skin against IRA.

Photoprotection of human skin beyond ultraviolet radiation.

Photoprotection of human skin by means of sunscreens or daily skin-care products is traditionally centered around the prevention of acute (e.g. sunburn) and chronic (e.

Prevention of polymorphic light eruption by oral administration of a nutritional supplement containing lycopene, β-carotene, and Lactobacillus johnsonii: results from a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded study.

Background: Polymorphic light eruption (PLE) is the most common photodermatosis. Little is known about the efficacy of systemic photoprotection provided by nutritional supplements in PLE patients.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess efficacy of nutritional supplement containing lycopene, β-carotene, and Lactobacillus johnsonii to diminish skin lesions induced by 'photoprovocation' testing in PLE patients.

Broad-spectrum moisturizer effectively prevents molecular reactions to UVA radiation.

The damaging effects of UVA radiation have been well-documented. UVA radiation is known to induce molecular, cellular, and clinical damage. Such harm may lead to photoaging, immune system depression, altered gene expression, or oncogene and tumor suppressor gene modulation, all of which are partly responsible for the development of skin cancer.

Urea uptake enhances barrier function and antimicrobial defense in humans by regulating epidermal gene expression.

Urea is an endogenous metabolite, known to enhance stratum corneum hydration. Yet, topical urea anecdotally also improves permeability barrier function, and it appears to exhibit antimicrobial activity. Hence, we hypothesized that urea is not merely a passive metabolite, but a small-molecule regulator of epidermal structure and function.

Modulation of skin pigmentation by the tetrapeptide PKEK: in vitro and in vivo evidence for skin whitening effects.

Uneven skin pigmentation is a significant cosmetic concern, and the identification of topically applicable molecules to address this issue is of general interest. We report that the tetrapeptide PKEK (Pro-Lys-Glu-Lys) can exert skin whitening effects based on one in vitro and four double-blinded vehicle-controlled in vivo studies. (i) Treatment of human keratinocytes with PKEK significantly reduced UVB-stimulated mRNA expression of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8 and TNF-α and, most importantly, proopiomelanocorticotropin (POMC), i.

Bioactive tetrapeptide GEKG boosts extracellular matrix formation: in vitro and in vivo molecular and clinical proof.

The 'matrikine' concept claims that processing of the precursors for collagen results in the formation of peptides such as KTTKS which in turn augments extracellular matrix (ECM) production. In the present study, we show the development of an anti-ageing active from an in silico approach by molecular design resulting in the tetrapeptide GEKG derived from ECM proteins. The efficacy of the peptide to significantly induce collagen production of the protein level and mRNA level has been demonstrated in vitro in human dermal fibroblasts and in vivo in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study enroling 10 volunteers with an average age of 48.

A broad-spectrum sunscreen prevents UVA radiation-induced gene expression in reconstructed skin in vitro and in human skin in vivo.

The efficacy of sunscreens to protect against ultraviolet (UV) A radiation is usually assessed by measuring erythema formation and pigmentation. The biological relevance of these endpoints for UVA-induced skin damage, however, is not known. We therefore carried out two complementary studies to determine UVA protection provided by a broad-spectrum sunscreen product at a molecular level by studying UVA radiation-induced gene expression.