In the Huffington Post (6/14), Glenn D. Braunstein, MD, chairman of the Department of Medicine, Cedars-Sinai, wrote, "There were 114,900 new cases of melanoma diagnosed nationwide last year, with almost 8,700 of those fatal, reports the Skin Cancer Foundation." But, "when the disease is caught in its earliest stages (Stage IA), the outlook is good, with 97 percent or so of patients surviving after five years and 95 percent surviving after 10 years." Unfortunately, "advanced melanoma (Stage IV) that has spread through the body leaves far fewer survivors, with less than 20 percent surviving after five years and 15 percent after 10 years." For that reason, people should not only use sunscreen, avoid tanning, and undergo regular skin examinations, but should also familiarize themselves with the ABCDEs of melanoma: asymmetry, border, color, diameter, and evolving.
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The Los Angeles Times (6/13, Stein) "Booster Shots" blog reported that although many parents "nix the idea of getting a pet when their children are young for fear of kicking off an allergic response," researchers found that having a "dog or cat in the house" may actually provide a protective effect, according to a study in the journal Clinical & Experimental Allergy. Researchers followed 565 children "from birth until age 18," paying particular interest to "pet exposure in the first year of life, and at other stages throughout childhood and adolescence." They also looked at the number of years in which children "lived with a pet that stayed indoors at least half the day," as well as the parents' allergy history; and whether the child was delivered "via C-section or vaginally." According to HealthDay (6/13, Gordon), the investigators found that the first year of life "appears to offer the greatest" protection: Living with a "dog before age one year was associated with about half the risk of developing a dog allergy in boys," and exposure to cats "before turning one was associated with about a 48 percent reduction in risk for girls and boys."
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The CBS Evening News (6/13, story 6, 2:25, Pelley) reported, "Today researchers at the National Institutes of Health are reporting an important new clue as to why some of us age more rapidly than others." CBS (Andrews) added that research by NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins "on why these children [with progeria] age so rapidly is revealing the genetic root of why aging happens at all. Children like Zach are born with an excess of the cell-destroying protein called progerin. Dr. Collins learned we all have small amounts of progerin and progerin has an on switch." NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins was shown saying, "We've learned what the signal is that turns that on in you and me." Andrews continued, "Dr. Collins believes anti-aging therapies will be possible one day," adding "The discovery is changing the way many scientists view the very biology of how we get old." A text version of this segment is available on the network's website. WebMD (6/13, Doheny) reported that Collins said, "We have learned something fundamental about the way your cells and mine are programmed to have a limited life span," adding, "It looks like it is not just a passive process." The new research, published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, examined "the interaction between the mutant protein known as progerin and telomeres." The researchers found "found that the same mechanism or pathways may help explain both the rare condition and normal aging." The Wall Street Journal (6/13, Marcus) "Health Blog" reported that while aging appears to be an active process, with progerin making sure old cells die, it still isn't known how the telomeres signal progerin production, how such signals could be stopped, and if stopping them would have negative side effects, such as cancer. Reuters (6/14, Steenhuysen) also covers this story.
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The New York Times (6/14, D5, O'Connor, Subscription Publication) "Really?" column takes on the claim that oxybenzone, "a chemical in sunscreen, absorbed through the skin, may be even more hazardous than the sun's rays." A study in rats concluded that animals consuming large doses of the substance developed side effects, such as abnormal growth of the uterus. However, "in March, researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York published an independent report examining all the evidence on the subject and concluded that the alarming findings from early animal studies relied on unrealistic dosages" that human beings would never encounter while using sunscreen. The column concludes, "Exposure to oxybenzone, through normal sunscreen use, is safe, studies find."
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The Time (6/10, Rochman) "Healthland" blog reported, "Too much time in the sun may be especially harmful for Baby, according to a review of new insights by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) into the importance of protecting young skin." Sunscreen may be applied to "babies six months and older," AAP guidelines say, but parents "should also practice sun avoidance, especially for kids under six months old, which means staying out of the sun during the hottest parts of the day -- 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.," and dressing the little ones in "protective clothing."
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MedWire (6/10, Guy) reported that, according to a study published online in the British Journal of Dermatology, "patients with cancer have a worse prognosis -- indicated by a greater cancer-specific and overall mortality excess -- if they have previously had psoriasis, compared with those who have not had the skin condition." After comparing "cancer-specific and overall mortality rates in a cohort of 1,746 previously psoriatic cancer patients and 1,011,757 cancer patients without psoriasis," researchers found "for all cancers, there was a significant survival disparity between those with previous psoriasis and those without, with a 1.27- and 1.26- fold increased risk among the former group for overall and cancer-specific mortality, respectively, during the study period."
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The Los Angeles Times (6/9, Maugh) "Booster Shots" blog reported, "A shingles outbreak can nearly quadruple the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) in the following year," according to research published online June 7 in the Journal of Infectious Diseases. After studying 315,550 adults with herpes zoster and 946,650 matched healthy controls, then following them for a year and adjusting for confounding factors, Chinese "researchers found that the group with herpes zoster outbreaks was 3.96 times more likely to develop MS than the control group," with MS developing on average approximately 100 days following the shingles outbreak. An accompanying editorial "argued that the research should be corroborated in other regions of the world."
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In continuing coverage, the Los Angeles Times (6/8, Cevallos) "Booster Shots" blog reported, "Deepening smile lines and crow's feet just might indicate weak bones, a risk for future fractures," according to research announced this week at an endocrinology meeting. For the study, Yale University researchers "peered at wrinkles on the faces and necks of 114 post-menopausal women and compared them to bone mass and density from X-ray and ultrasound measurements." What they found was "the worse the wrinkles, the lower the bone density."
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Reuters (6/8, Joelving) reports that, according to a study published online June 6 in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, giving an infant nuts, milk from a cow, or other allergenic foods before the age of six months appears not to precipitate eczema or excessive wheezing as the child grows. After following some 7,000 babies until the age of four, then adjusting for confounding factors, such as maternal smoking, researchers found no indication that eggs, milk, or nuts were associated with eczema and wheezing later in childhood.
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MedPage Today (6/7) reported that women with a malignant melanoma are "less likely to die or to have the cancer progress," according to findings presented at a medical conference. The analysis of "outcomes data from seven European clinical trials," which included more than "6,700 patients," showed that compared with men, women with localized disease had a "hazard ratio of 0.70 for death, compared with 0.81 and 0.83, respectively, for those with stage III and IV disease." Similarly, women with localized disease had a "hazard ratio for progression of 0.69, while those with stage III and IV disease had hazard ratios of 0.86 and 0.79," respectively; and women with localized and stage III disease had "hazard ratios for the time to distant metastasis of 0.69 and 0.87," respectively. The researchers suggest the "observed discrepancy has been behavior. 'Men wait too long to see their doctors, so they come in with thicker tumors and a worse prognosis.'"
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WebMD (6/6, Mann) reported, "The changes that lead to skin cancer may actually begin during baby's first year, when an infant's skin is most vulnerable to burns and sun damage, according to a new report in the July issue of Pediatrics." At that time in a child's life, the skin is still developing and is more easily damaged by ultraviolet rays. For that reason, experts urge parents to keep babies and toddlers indoors during the hours of 10 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and to apply sunscreen liberally to children before going outside, paying particularly attention to "ears, nose, and scalp." Because little children have sensitive skin, parents should perform a patch test first before trying out a new sunscreen on them. Finally, the sunscreen chosen should block both UVA and UVB rays.
MedPage Today (6/5, Fiore) reported, "In a cross-sectional analysis, having more wrinkles was associated with having lower bone mineral density (BMD; P<0.01)," according to research presented at a press briefing at the Endocrine Society's annual meeting. In a study of 114 patients, researchers "found that more skin wrinkling was associated with having lower bone density at the spine, femoral neck, and total body (P<0.01 for all)." In addition, "having more glabellar wrinkles on the forehead was related to lower bone density at the femoral neck (P=0.033), while increasing skin rigidity at the face and the forehead was tied to stronger bones at the hip and spine (P<0.001)." HealthDay (6/4, Mozes) reported, "Because poor bone density can lead to broken bones, a link between wrinkles and bone density -- if confirmed -- might prompt development of an inexpensive way to identify postmenopausal women at highest risk for fractures," the study authors theorized. The investigators pointed "out that a possible relationship between bone and skin health could be rooted in the fact that the two share the same building blocks -- proteins called collagens." And, "age-related collagen changes, they noted, could explain both the wrinkling and sagging of skin and a simultaneous deterioration of bone quality and quantity."
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