Pharmaceuticals and cosmetics for dermal application are usually tested on healthy skin, although the primary permeation barrier, the stratum corneum, is often impaired by skin diseases or small skin lesions, especially on the hands. These skin conditions can considerably influence the permeation of chemicals and drugs. Furthermore, risk assessment for example of nanoparticles should be perform...

G enomewide association studies (GWAS), which began with hopes of quickly uncovering the genetic underpinnings of disease and personalizing treatment and risk prediction, are now the subject of debate in both academic journals and the general media. GWAS use microarrays to scan thousands of tissue samples from patients with a particular disease and compare the results with samples from healthy ...

BACKGROUND Elevated fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) associates positively with symptomatic atopy among asthmatics and in the general population. It is, however, unclear whether sensitization to common allergens per se- as verified with positive skin prick tests--affects FENO in healthy individuals. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to examine the association between FENO and sensitiz...

Host-commensal relationships in the skin are a complex system governed by variables related to the host, the bacteria and the environment. A disruption of this system may lead to new steady states, which, in turn, may lead to disease. We have studied one such disruption by characterizing the skin microbiota in healthy and immunodepressed (ID) mice. A detailed anatomopathological study failed to...

Skin blood perfusion and oxygenation depends upon cardiovascular, hormonal and circulatory health in humans and provides socio-sexual signals of underlying physiology, dominance and reproductive status in some primates. We allowed participants to manipulate colour calibrated facial photographs along empirically-measured oxygenated and deoxygenated blood colour axes both separately and simultane...

BACKGROUND Plantar foot skin exhibits unique biophysical properties that are distinct from skin on other areas of the body. This paper characterises, using non-invasive methods, the biophysical properties of foot skin in healthy and pathological states including xerosis, heel fissures, calluses and corns. METHODS Ninety three people participated. Skin hydration, elasticity, collagen and elast...

Background: Stretch marks or striae distensae (SD) can be considered a common skin disorder, but their physiopathogenic mechanisms have not been totally clarified. Although itis considered an esthetic complaint, it may have serious psychosocial consequences besides the local and systemic alterations of the conjunctive tissue. This study aims at assessing and quantifying the estrogen, androgen a...

UV light is considered an important contributor to skin cancer, but methods have been lacking to quantify specific UV-induced lesions in human skin in situ. We applied a newly developed 32P-postlabeling technique to measure specific UV-induced cyclobutane dimers and 6-4 dipyrimidine lesions in the skin of healthy volunteers. At a dose of 400 J/m2, solar-simulated radiation caused at least 20 cy...

OBJECTIVE To compare the specificity and sensitivity of the skin pathergy test performed with blunt and sharp needles in patients with Behçet's disease. METHODS The skin pathergy test was performed using the simultaneous four needle prick method with blunt and sharp, thick and thin needles in 92 patients with Behçet's disease, 64 healthy controls, and 128 patients without Behçet's disease. Th...