A gel that could prevent the painful and disfiguring contractions of skin grafts used to treat burns has been developed. When skin is irreparably damaged by burns, skin taken from other areas of the patient’s body — or created by tissue engineering — is grafted onto the burned area. Although grafts often heal successfully, the skin shrinks significantly in nearly a third of patients. The process is painful and disabling, and particularly common in children.

Original post by ScienceDaily: Skin Care News

Posted: January 29th, 2008 under skin health.
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Using drinkable tap water to clean wounds does not increase infection rates, according to the findings. There is, however, no evidence that it reduces infection rates or increases healing rate over leaving the wound alone.

Original post by ScienceDaily: Skin Care News

Posted: January 24th, 2008 under skin health.
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New research shows that by suppressing one of the genes that normally switches on in wound cells, wounds can heal faster and reduce scarring. This has major implications not just for wound victims but also for people who suffer organ tissue damage through illness or abdominal surgery.

Original post by ScienceDaily: Skin Care News

Posted: January 24th, 2008 under skin health.
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A preliminary study suggests that melanomas have a different appearance than other irregular skin moles (i.e., are “ugly ducklings”), according to a new article. Rates of malignant melanoma continue to increase, and early identification allows surgeons to treat the disease by removing the tumor, according to background information in the article.

Original post by ScienceDaily: Skin Care News

Posted: January 22nd, 2008 under skin health.
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Researchers have identified a novel cyclic signaling in the dermis that coordinates stem cell activity and regulates regeneration in large populations of hairs in animal models. The ‘dermal clock’ signaling coordinates stem cell activity in a population of hair follicles.

Original post by ScienceDaily: Skin Care News

Posted: January 19th, 2008 under skin health.
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A non-invasive diagnostic tool to detect surface cancers quickly and painlessly using technology currently employed by gyms to calculate body composition has been developed by a medical physics researcher. The new diagnostic technique uses bioimpedance spectroscopy to diagnose cervical and skin cancers.

Original post by ScienceDaily: Skin Care News

Posted: January 19th, 2008 under skin health.
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College student Maria Anichini no longer has to hide her skin under long sleeves and pants. Her skin and life have rebounded since she became part of a trial testing an injectable drug for children and adolescents with psoriasis, a common skin disease causing red scaly patches all over the body. Researchers report the drug etanercept — FDA approved for adults but never before tested in children for psoriasis– dramatically reduced psoriasis flare-ups.

Original post by ScienceDaily: Skin Care News

Posted: January 17th, 2008 under skin health.
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Sunlight’s ultraviolet rays can damage your skin year-round. Yet a new study shows that most American adults engage in multiple behaviors that boost their risk of skin cancer by increasing their exposure to UV rays.

Original post by ScienceDaily: Skin Care News

Posted: January 11th, 2008 under skin health.
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A new study suggests that the benefits of moderately increased exposure to sunlight — namely the production of vitamin D, which protects against the lethal effects of many forms of cancer and other diseases — may outweigh the risk of developing skin cancer in populations deficient in vitamin D.

Original post by ScienceDaily: Skin Care News

Posted: January 8th, 2008 under skin health.
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There is new hope for patients with chronic wounds: medical scientists have been granted approval to produce artificial skin from patients’ own cells. It sounds like something from a science fiction novel: Pluck a few of someone’s hairs, and four to six weeks later they have grown into a piece of skin.

Original post by ScienceDaily: Skin Care News

Posted: January 4th, 2008 under skin health.
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