Biological washing powders 'don't cause eczema'
Biological washing powders do not irritate the skin or cause eczema, according to new research.
The idea that bio detergent can trigger skin reactions is a myth that has no scientific basis.
The powders and liquids contain enzymes that "digest" dirt and stains at low temperatures.
But Dr Sarah Wakelin, a dermatologist at St Mary's Hospital, London, said: "We have found that laundry detergents are not a cause of skin irritation or allergy."
Source: www.mirror.co.uk
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Preventive treatment curbs eczema flare-ups
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Among adults with eczema, otherwise known as atopic dermatitis, "proactive" long-term treatment with tacrolimus ointment applied twice-weekly safely reduces exacerbations of the condition, European investigators have shown.
Conventional "reactive" treatment of atopic dermatitis involves applying anti-inflammatory medication to skin lesions only while they are visible. With a proactive approach, intensive treatment until lesions are no longer visible is followed by low-dose treatment of previously affected skin areas to prevent flare-ups, the researchers explain in the medical journal Allergy.
Dr. Andreas Wollenberg, from Ludwig-Maximilian Universitat in Munich, Germany, and members of the European Tacrolimus Ointment Study Group conducted a clinical trial in which 247 adult patients with atopic dermatitis initially applied tacrolimus ointment twice daily for up to 6 weeks to visible lesions.
Patients who responded well were then randomly assigned to apply tacrolimus or placebo ointment twice-weekly for 12 months. If exacerbations occurred, they were treated with daily tacrolimus until the flare-up subsided.
The average time to a first exacerbation was substantially longer for the proactively treated patients (142 days) than for the reactively treated patients (15 days), the investigators report.
The proactive group also had a lower percentage of days in which their condition flared up, the report indicates, and more of them had no exacerbations .
Proactive treatment with tacrolimus ointment "prevented, delayed and reduced the occurrence of atopic dermatitis exacerbations," Wollenberg and his associates conclude.
SOURCE: Allergy, June 2008.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Among adults with eczema, otherwise known as atopic dermatitis, "proactive" long-term treatment with tacrolimus ointment applied twice-weekly safely reduces exacerbations of the condition, European investigators have shown.
Conventional "reactive" treatment of atopic dermatitis involves applying anti-inflammatory medication to skin lesions only while they are visible. With a proactive approach, intensive treatment until lesions are no longer visible is followed by low-dose treatment of previously affected skin areas to prevent flare-ups, the researchers explain in the medical journal Allergy.
Dr. Andreas Wollenberg, from Ludwig-Maximilian Universitat in Munich, Germany, and members of the European Tacrolimus Ointment Study Group conducted a clinical trial in which 247 adult patients with atopic dermatitis initially applied tacrolimus ointment twice daily for up to 6 weeks to visible lesions.
Patients who responded well were then randomly assigned to apply tacrolimus or placebo ointment twice-weekly for 12 months. If exacerbations occurred, they were treated with daily tacrolimus until the flare-up subsided.
The average time to a first exacerbation was substantially longer for the proactively treated patients (142 days) than for the reactively treated patients (15 days), the investigators report.
The proactive group also had a lower percentage of days in which their condition flared up, the report indicates, and more of them had no exacerbations .
Proactive treatment with tacrolimus ointment "prevented, delayed and reduced the occurrence of atopic dermatitis exacerbations," Wollenberg and his associates conclude.
SOURCE: Allergy, June 2008.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Bacteria in Babies May Help Prevent Atopic Dermatitis
Sunday April 27, 2008
There's been a lot of research lately into ways to prevent children from getting atopic dermatitis. Studies have looked at the foods a breast-feeding mom eats, whether infants are breast or bottle fed, when babies start eating solid food, and feeding prebiotics or probiotics to babies to prevent or lessen the symptoms of atopic dermatitis. At best, these studies show further study is needed.
Along this line, recent studies presented at the International Symposium on Early Nutrition Programming found that bacteria in babies guts may be an area to focus on. These studies showed that babies who have a family history of atopic dermatitis have a higher chance of not developing it themselves if they have certain bacteria in their intestines.
It makes sense that the right balance of bacteria could be helpful. Soon after birth bacteria colonize babies' guts and their immune systems start to work developing what is known as gut immunity. Gut immunity is important because it's the first line of defense against absorption of substances that could trigger allergies.
The investigators are hoping that the risk of atopic dermatitis can be lessened by giving babies the right bacterial strains and prebiotic mixtures to boost their immune systems.
Source:
http://dermatology.about.com
Sunday April 27, 2008
There's been a lot of research lately into ways to prevent children from getting atopic dermatitis. Studies have looked at the foods a breast-feeding mom eats, whether infants are breast or bottle fed, when babies start eating solid food, and feeding prebiotics or probiotics to babies to prevent or lessen the symptoms of atopic dermatitis. At best, these studies show further study is needed.
Along this line, recent studies presented at the International Symposium on Early Nutrition Programming found that bacteria in babies guts may be an area to focus on. These studies showed that babies who have a family history of atopic dermatitis have a higher chance of not developing it themselves if they have certain bacteria in their intestines.
It makes sense that the right balance of bacteria could be helpful. Soon after birth bacteria colonize babies' guts and their immune systems start to work developing what is known as gut immunity. Gut immunity is important because it's the first line of defense against absorption of substances that could trigger allergies.
The investigators are hoping that the risk of atopic dermatitis can be lessened by giving babies the right bacterial strains and prebiotic mixtures to boost their immune systems.
Source:
http://dermatology.about.com
Probiotics and dermatitis: A review in infants and kids
Researchers from Alfa Institute of Biomedical Sciences (AIBS) in Athens, Greece reviewed the evidence for probiotics in treating or preventing atopic dermatitis in children.
First, the details.
The results of 13 studies were reviewed.
10 evaluated probiotics as treatment of atopic dermatitis.
3 for prevention of atopic dermatitis.
The main outcome measure in 9 studies was SCORAD (SCORing Atopic Dermatitis) — a tool developed by the European Task Force on Atopic Dermatitis to evaluate the severity of this condition.
And, the results.
4 studies reported a significant decrease in SCORAD using probiotics in infants or children with atopic dermatitis for 1 or 2 months vs placebo.
But there was no consistent response in the various immunological/biochemical laboratory studies used to study atopic dermatitis.
In 2 studies, mothers given Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG with or without other probiotics during the time before birth, followed by treating the infants with the same probiotics for the first 6 months of life developed atopic dermatitis significantly less frequently during the first 2 years of life vs placebo.
However, another study reported no difference in frequency nor severity of atopic dermatitis using this treatment.
The bottom line?It appears that probiotics — especially L. rhamnosus GG — prevents atopic dermatitis. The probiotics studied also reduced the severity of atopic dermatitis in approximately half of the studies, although they didn’t change most of the inflammatory markers of this condition.
The findings are not conclusive, however. According to the authors, “More… [studies] need to be conducted to elucidate whether probiotics are useful for the treatment or prevention of atopic dermatitis.”
Source:
www.thecamreport.com
Researchers from Alfa Institute of Biomedical Sciences (AIBS) in Athens, Greece reviewed the evidence for probiotics in treating or preventing atopic dermatitis in children.
First, the details.
The results of 13 studies were reviewed.
10 evaluated probiotics as treatment of atopic dermatitis.
3 for prevention of atopic dermatitis.
The main outcome measure in 9 studies was SCORAD (SCORing Atopic Dermatitis) — a tool developed by the European Task Force on Atopic Dermatitis to evaluate the severity of this condition.
And, the results.
4 studies reported a significant decrease in SCORAD using probiotics in infants or children with atopic dermatitis for 1 or 2 months vs placebo.
But there was no consistent response in the various immunological/biochemical laboratory studies used to study atopic dermatitis.
In 2 studies, mothers given Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG with or without other probiotics during the time before birth, followed by treating the infants with the same probiotics for the first 6 months of life developed atopic dermatitis significantly less frequently during the first 2 years of life vs placebo.
However, another study reported no difference in frequency nor severity of atopic dermatitis using this treatment.
The bottom line?It appears that probiotics — especially L. rhamnosus GG — prevents atopic dermatitis. The probiotics studied also reduced the severity of atopic dermatitis in approximately half of the studies, although they didn’t change most of the inflammatory markers of this condition.
The findings are not conclusive, however. According to the authors, “More… [studies] need to be conducted to elucidate whether probiotics are useful for the treatment or prevention of atopic dermatitis.”
Source:
www.thecamreport.com
Relationship between disease severity, scratching and sleep quality in atopic dermatitis
April 30, 2008
The relationship between sleep quality and disease severity in atopic dermatitis (AD) was examined in a 2-night pilot study in 20 adults (<50 years). Sleep efficiency was measured by polysomnography (PSG) and actigraphy. Disease severity was assessed by the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) and itch by a visual analogue scale (VAS). Tumor necrosis factor (TNF), interleukin 6 (IL-6) and IL-10 were assayed from a subset of 9 participants. The sleep measures of PSG and actigraphy were strongly associated with each other. Decreased sleep efficiency was associated with increased disease severity, scratching and IL-6 levels. However, self-reported sleep quality and quality of life were not significantly correlated with objective PSG or actigraphy measures. These data suggest a relationship between decreased sleep quality and increased AD severity. IL-6 also appears to have an important role in the sleep-wake cycle (Bender, B.G. et al. J Am Acad Dermatol 2008, 58(3): 415-420).
Source: www.accessdermatology.com
April 30, 2008
The relationship between sleep quality and disease severity in atopic dermatitis (AD) was examined in a 2-night pilot study in 20 adults (<50 years). Sleep efficiency was measured by polysomnography (PSG) and actigraphy. Disease severity was assessed by the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) and itch by a visual analogue scale (VAS). Tumor necrosis factor (TNF), interleukin 6 (IL-6) and IL-10 were assayed from a subset of 9 participants. The sleep measures of PSG and actigraphy were strongly associated with each other. Decreased sleep efficiency was associated with increased disease severity, scratching and IL-6 levels. However, self-reported sleep quality and quality of life were not significantly correlated with objective PSG or actigraphy measures. These data suggest a relationship between decreased sleep quality and increased AD severity. IL-6 also appears to have an important role in the sleep-wake cycle (Bender, B.G. et al. J Am Acad Dermatol 2008, 58(3): 415-420).
Source: www.accessdermatology.com
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Omega-3 can help eczema
A diet rich in omega-3 can help eczema sufferers reduce the severity of their symptoms, according to new research.
Patients with the most common atopic, or allergic, form of eczema given purified fish oil supplements cut their symptoms by almost a fifth.
Eczema, also known as dermatitis, is a group of skin conditions that causes dry, itchy inflammation of the skin. It affects approximately three per cent of the population, including as many as one fifth of children of school age.
Experts have suggested recent changes to Western diets which have reduced consumption of omega-3 and an increased that of omega-6 fatty acids may have played an important role in the increased prevalence of eczema.
German researchers, whose work was published in the British Journal of Dermatology, gave 44 patients with atopic eczema aged between 18- and 40-years-old daily tablets of either 5.7g Omega 3 supplements or placebos for eight weeks.
Those on the supplements recorded an average 18 per cent reduction in their symptoms, measured on a standard scale known as Severity Scoring of Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD), by the end of the trial.
Nutritionists recommend people should consume omega-6 and omega-3 essential fatty acids in a ratio of two or three to one.
Too much Omega-6 prevents the body metabolising omega-3 into the fatty acids that form the structure of brain cell membranes and carry electrical signals between brain cells.
Co-author Prof Margitta Worm, from the Charité Department of Dermatology and Allergology, said: "The results of this trial are extremely interesting as the data clearly demonstrates that dietary DHA could be bioactive and may have a beneficial impact on the outcome of atopic eczema.
"These positive results will be investigated in further clinical trials to improve the management of atopic eczema which is a growing problem."
The richest sources of omega-3 are oily fish, particularly mackerel, herring, salmon, fresh tuna and trout. It is also found in walnuts and hazel nuts. Omega-3 essential fats have been shown to protect the body against heart attacks and strokes.
Official advice recommends people eat two portions of fish per week, one of which should be an oily fish. The average Briton consumes a third of a portion per week.
telegraph.co.uk
A diet rich in omega-3 can help eczema sufferers reduce the severity of their symptoms, according to new research.
Patients with the most common atopic, or allergic, form of eczema given purified fish oil supplements cut their symptoms by almost a fifth.
Eczema, also known as dermatitis, is a group of skin conditions that causes dry, itchy inflammation of the skin. It affects approximately three per cent of the population, including as many as one fifth of children of school age.
Experts have suggested recent changes to Western diets which have reduced consumption of omega-3 and an increased that of omega-6 fatty acids may have played an important role in the increased prevalence of eczema.
German researchers, whose work was published in the British Journal of Dermatology, gave 44 patients with atopic eczema aged between 18- and 40-years-old daily tablets of either 5.7g Omega 3 supplements or placebos for eight weeks.
Those on the supplements recorded an average 18 per cent reduction in their symptoms, measured on a standard scale known as Severity Scoring of Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD), by the end of the trial.
Nutritionists recommend people should consume omega-6 and omega-3 essential fatty acids in a ratio of two or three to one.
Too much Omega-6 prevents the body metabolising omega-3 into the fatty acids that form the structure of brain cell membranes and carry electrical signals between brain cells.
Co-author Prof Margitta Worm, from the Charité Department of Dermatology and Allergology, said: "The results of this trial are extremely interesting as the data clearly demonstrates that dietary DHA could be bioactive and may have a beneficial impact on the outcome of atopic eczema.
"These positive results will be investigated in further clinical trials to improve the management of atopic eczema which is a growing problem."
The richest sources of omega-3 are oily fish, particularly mackerel, herring, salmon, fresh tuna and trout. It is also found in walnuts and hazel nuts. Omega-3 essential fats have been shown to protect the body against heart attacks and strokes.
Official advice recommends people eat two portions of fish per week, one of which should be an oily fish. The average Briton consumes a third of a portion per week.
telegraph.co.uk
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Does Infant/Mother Nutrition Affect Allergy-Related Problems?
1. The idea that egg, fish, and foods containing peanut protein should not be introduced before 1 year of age is not based on good science.
2. Maternal dietary restrictions during pregnancy do not appear to play a significant role in the prevention of atopic [allergy-related] disease in infants.
3. There is no convincing evidence for the use of soy-based infant formula for the purpose of allergy prevention.
4. For infants beyond 4-6 months of age, there is insufficient data to support a protective effect of any dietary intervention for the development of atopic disease.
5. In Infants who are at risk of developing atopic disease, the current evidence does not support the hypothesis that exclusive breast-feeding protects against allergic asthma occurring beyond the age of 6 years.
6. For a child who has developed an atopic disease that might be precipitated or exacerbated by ingested proteins (via human milk, infant formula, or specific complementary foods), treatment could require specific identification and restriction of causal food proteins .
1. The idea that egg, fish, and foods containing peanut protein should not be introduced before 1 year of age is not based on good science.
2. Maternal dietary restrictions during pregnancy do not appear to play a significant role in the prevention of atopic [allergy-related] disease in infants.
3. There is no convincing evidence for the use of soy-based infant formula for the purpose of allergy prevention.
4. For infants beyond 4-6 months of age, there is insufficient data to support a protective effect of any dietary intervention for the development of atopic disease.
5. In Infants who are at risk of developing atopic disease, the current evidence does not support the hypothesis that exclusive breast-feeding protects against allergic asthma occurring beyond the age of 6 years.
6. For a child who has developed an atopic disease that might be precipitated or exacerbated by ingested proteins (via human milk, infant formula, or specific complementary foods), treatment could require specific identification and restriction of causal food proteins .
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