Plain Language Summaries of Various Dermatological Studies
September 2016
in “
British Journal of Dermatology
”
TLDR Doctors need more training in skin cancer screening, a new treatment is effective for a skin condition, better diagnosis methods for skin cancer are available, hair loss in women may be linked to hormones and cholesterol, certain skin care products might cause hair loss, babies' skin gets weaker after birth, and a gene mutation might be linked to eczema.
In 2016, a survey of 425 GPs in France revealed that only 30.8% had a dermatoscope and 16.9% had training in dermoscopy, yet those with the equipment used it frequently, indicating a need for more formal training in dermoscopy for melanoma screening. A clinical trial in Germany with 55 patients demonstrated that BF-200 ALA had a 91% clearance rate for actinic keratosis after PDT, significantly higher than the 22% for placebo. A Swedish study showed that dermoscopy training improved the diagnosis of superficial basal cell carcinoma. Research involving middle-aged women in the Netherlands and UK found a correlation between low insulin-like growth factor-1 and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels with hair loss. A UK study suggested a link between frontal fibrosing alopecia and the use of certain facial skin care products and sunscreens. A study on newborns indicated that skin barrier function weakens during the first 4 weeks of life. Lastly, a Danish study found that mutations in the FLG gene were associated with an increased systemic T-helper 17 immune response, potentially connected to atopic eczema.
