Monthly Archives: February 2008

A Deadly Moisturizing Cream

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OK. So the title is a bit dramatic.

This is an interesting story from the United Kingdom’s Daily Mail. They reported an outbreak of a deadly bacteria called Burkholderia cepacia (B. cepacia) in five patients in Barcelona, Spain. The infection was linked to a moisturizing cream that was applied to their skin while in the hospital.

B. cepacia is a gram negative bacteria that is relatively harmless to healthy people but can be deadly to immunocompromised or critically ill patients.

When I was an intern in the intensive care unit, we had a patient on a ventilator who became infected by this same bacteria. It was eventually traced to a hand cream that the nurses were using.

This is one reason why you have to be careful with “all natural,” preservative free products. Although preservatives can rarely cause skin allergies, they are actually in your product for a good reason.

Preservatives are antimicrobials, added to water based products to prevent bacteria and mold growth. Just like cream cheese wouldn’t do so well sitting out on your counter, a preservative free facial cream can become a petri dish for microorganisms if there is no antimicrobial in it.

Ironically, the contaminated cream the nurses in my hospital used was an expensive hand cream — apparently even bacteria know the good stuff.

Skin Care Myths: Hair and Fingernails Continue to Grow After Death

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A popular myth that even made its way to the Sopranos (when Christopher digs up Emil Kolar). It’s not true though.

The reason for the long-held belief may be that dehydration of the body after death, and subsequent shrinking of soft tissue, can create the illusion of growth of hair and nails.

For this and other popular myths that apparently even doctors believe (not me of course), see this NYT piece.

Study Uses Functional MRI to Answer Why Scratching Relieves Itching

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A study by Dr. Yosipovitch at Wake Forest University used functional MRIs to examine the effects on the brain of scratching an itch. Scratching decreased activity in the anterior cingulate cortex and in the posterior cingulate cortex. These areas are associated with pain aversion and memory. According to the study, an increase in scratching led to a decrease of activity in these areas of the brain.

“It’s possible that scratching may suppress the emotional components of itch and bring about relief,” Yosipovitch said.

Well, plenty of my patients must be emotionally suppressed these days — with winter itch in full effect, plenty of them are scratching.

read more | digg story

Caffeine and Exercise Protect Against Skin Cancer

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exerciseCaffeine and exercise together may be up to four times as protective against ultraviolet light induced skin cancer than either alone.

A recent laboratory study found that topical application of caffeine 30 min before ultraviolet-B (UVB) exposure inhibited the formation of thymidine dimers by 70 to 80 percent — thymidine dimers are the genetic basis for UVB-induced skin cancer.

Another study found that the combination of caffeine and exercise boosted elimination of ultraviolet light damaged cells in mice. Disposal of these cells would decrease the risk of future skin cancer.

The study compared the effects of caffeine, exercise, and the combination of both in three groups of mice whose exposed skin is prone to skin cancer.

One group of mice drank the equivalent of one to two cups of coffee a day in the form of caffeinated water. Another group ran on an exercise wheel, and a third drank the caffeinated water and ran on the wheel. All of the mice were exposed to UV radiation.

Some of the mice’s damaged skin cells were eliminated through apoptosis – a programed, choreographed process that occurs when damaged cells die. The rate of apoptosis among these damaged cells was highest in the third group that drank caffeine and exercised.

Of course, caffeine and exercise are not a substitute for wearing sunscreen. But it does justify splurging on a double latte today.

Just don’t bring your Starbucks venti coffee with you on the gym treadmill in the morning; that drives me nuts.

Lu, Y-P., Lou, Y-R., Peng, Q-Y., Xie, J-G., Nghiem, P., and Conney, A. H. (2007) Proc. Am. Assoc. Cancer Res. 48:821