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At least 271 records · Page 15Linked to original sources
PubMed2003

A systematic review of randomised controlled trials evaluating the effect of mother/baby skin-to-skin care on successful breast feeding.

OBJECTIVE: to examine the effects of early skin-to-skin contact between mother and baby on the initiation and duration of breast feeding. REVIEW METHODS SEARCH STRATEGY: electronic databases--the Cochrane Library, MEDLINE,CINAHL and EMBASE. References of studies were examined to identify additional trials and contact was made with researchers in the field. Study selection criteria: randomised or quasi-randomised controlled trials in any language in which skin-to-skin contact between mothers and their healthy full-term newborn babies was compared to routine contact. Primary outcomes were success of first breast feed and duration of breast feeding. Secondary outcomes included, baby temperature and behaviour. STUDY-QUALITY ASSESSMENT: validity of included studies was assessed using criteria defined by the Cochrane Collaboration. Application of inclusion criteria, validity assessment and data extraction were carried out independently by two reviewers with a third reviewer to resolve differences. FINDINGS: seven randomised controlled trials were identified. Five studies assessed duration of breast feeding with mixed results. None of the studies assessed the success of the first breast-feeding experience. Study quality was variable with methods of randomisation and blinding of assessment unclear in four of the five studies providing relevant results. CONCLUSIONS: the findings of this systematic review fail to support the current initiatives to implement changes in clinical practice to include skin-to-skin contact. Methodological flaws within the included studies prohibit firm conclusions being reached with regard to the effect of skin-to-skin contact on the duration of breast feeding, timing of first breast feed or baby physiological factors. The review highlights the need for further primary research to assess the effect of skin-to-skin contact on the breast-feeding experience.

Breast Feeding↗
PubMed2000

Is skin color a marker for racial discrimination? Explaining the skin color-hypertension relationship.

It is widely assumed that dark-skinned Blacks have higher rates of hypertension than their lighter-skinned cohorts because the former experience greater racial discrimination. However, there is no empirical evidence linking skin color to discrimination. This study tested the extent to which skin color is associated with differential exposure to discrimination for a sample of 300 Black adults. Results revealed that dark-skinned Blacks were 11 times more likely to experience frequent racial discrimination than their light-skinned counterparts; 67% of subjects reporting high discrimination were dark-skinned and only 8.5% were light-skinned. These preliminary findings suggest that skin color indeed may be a marker for racial discrimination and highlight the need to assess discrimination in studies of the skin color-hypertension relationship.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

UV and skin cancer: specific p53 gene mutation in normal skin as a biologically relevant exposure measurement.

Many human skin tumors contain mutated p53 genes that probably result from UV exposure. To investigate the link between UV exposure and p53 gene mutation, we developed two methods to detect presumptive UV-specific p53 gene mutations in UV-exposed normal skin. The methods are based on mutant allele-specific PCRs and ligase chain reactions and designed to detect CC to TT mutations at codons 245 and 247/248, using 10 micrograms of DNA samples. These specific mutations in the p53 gene have been reported in skin tumors. CC to TT mutations in the p53 gene were detected in cultured human skin cells only after UV irradiation, and the mutation frequency increased with increasing UV dose. Seventeen of 23 samples of normal skin from sun-exposed sites (74%) on Australian skin cancer patients contained CC to TT mutations in one or both of codons 245 and 247/248 of the p53 gene, and only 1 of 20 samples from non-sun-exposed sites (5%) harbored the mutation. None of 15 biopsies of normal skin from non-sun-exposed or intermittently exposed sites on volunteers living in France carried such mutations. Our results suggest that specific p53 gene mutations associated with human skin cancer are induced in normal skin by solar UV radiation. Measurement of these mutations may be useful as a biologically relevant measure of UV exposure in humans and as a possible predictor of risk for skin cancer.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Rapid synthesis of IFN-gamma by T cells in skin may play a pivotal role in the human skin immune system.

This study has shown that T lymphocytes with alphabeta TCR present in normal human skin possess unique characteristics which may allow them to fulfil a unique role in skin. It disclosed that unlike T cells from blood, they are devoid of proliferative capacity in response to any ligand including lectins and phorbol esters, and show a diminished Ca2+ flux in response to phytohemagglutinin (PHA). However, despite this apparent lack of reactivity, these cells respond to stimulation by synthesis of IFN-gamma. Furthermore, this response by T cells from the skin differs from that of T cells in blood in its tempo. Whereas IFN-gamma is first detectable in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) 42 h following stimulation, T cells from skin produce IFN-gamma 2.5 h after activation, or 17 times faster. Whereas synthesis persists in PBL for several days, it only lasts in skin T cells for 90 min. This difference in the kinetics is a consequence of differences in the regulation of IFN-gamma synthesis in PBL and skin-derived T cells. Thus, unlike PBL, T cells in intact unimmunized skin or ex vivo express mRNA for IFN-gamma, transcribed in a constitutive manner. Activation of these cells turns on translation of IFN-gamma synthesis directly and at the same time turns off further transcription of the IFN-gamma gene: cessation of IFN-gamma synthesis coincides with the disappearance of IFN-gamma mRNA within 4 h of activation. These observations suggest that this pre-formed mRNA may be solely responsible for the early synthesis of IFN-gamma in skin, determining both the amount and the duration of its synthesis. We propose that these cells may represent the antigen-specific component of a first-line host defence system in human skin. The reported absence of delayed-type hypersensitivity reactivity in patients with a selective deficit of skin T cells supports this conclusion.

Calcium↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A comparison of the Tanner and Bioplasty skin mesher systems for maximal skin graft expansion.

Maximizing wound coverage of patients with burns who have meshed autografts is a primary intervention for wound closure. This study compared the Tanner and Bioplasty skin graft meshing systems for optimal skin graft expansion. Twenty patients for skin grafting were randomly assigned to either a Tanner or Bioplasty skin mesher group. Skin expansion ratios used with the Tanner group were 1.5:1 and 3:1, while Bioplasty ratios included 2:1 and 4:1. The patients' thighs were used exclusively as donor sites, and all grafts were harvested by the same surgeon. Expanded skin ratios were compared as to the difference in percent of predicted expansion outcome compared with the actual areas of the measured skin grafts. Comparing the differences of actual skin expansion with expected expansion, statistically significant results were found. When meshed skin grafts are used for wound closure, a 12.9% to 58.6% greater than anticipated area of donor skin should be harvested based on the expansion ratio selected.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Inhibition of collagen synthesis and changes in skin morphology in murine graft-versus-host disease and tight skin mice: effect of halofuginone.

The effect of halofuginone, a plant alkaloid known to inhibit collagen type I synthesis, on skin collagen content and skin morphology was evaluated in two in vivo models of scleroderma: the murine chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGvHD) and the tight skin mouse. Skin collagen was assessed by hydroxyproline levels in skin biopsies and by immunohistochemistry using anti-collagen type I antibodies. Daily intraperitoneal injections of halofuginone (1 microgram/mouse) for 52 d starting 3 d before spleen cell transplantation, abrogated the increase in skin collagen and prevented the thickening of the dermis and the loss of the subdermal fat, all of which are characteristic of the cGvHD mice. Halofuginone had a minimal effect on collagen content of the control mice. The halofuginone-dependent decrease in skin collagen content was concentration-dependent and was not accompanied by changes in body weight in either the cGvHD or the control mice. Injections of halofuginone (1 microgram/mouse) for 45 d caused a decrease in the collagen content and dermis width in tight skin mice, but did not affect the dermis width of control mice. Collagen content determination from skin biopsies confirmed the immunohistochemical results in the same mice. The low concentration of halofuginone needed to prevent collagen deposition in fibrotic skin without affecting body weight suggests that halofuginone may serve as a novel and promising anti-fibrotic therapy.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Quantification of Pro alpha 1(I) collagen mRNA in skin biopsy specimens: levels of transcription in normal skin and in granuloma annulare.

The synthesis of type I collagen, the major component of the skin, is known to be modulated in aging and in various skin diseases and treatments. In vivo analysis of type I collagen expression, however, is difficult because of the low cell density of the dermis and the small amount of RNA obtainable from skin biopsy specimens. We present here a quantitative polymerase chain reaction method for the quantification of pro alpha 1(I) collagen mRNA in skin punch biopsy specimens. The targeted mRNA and a synthetic RNA as an internal standard were co-amplified together with the same primers. Collagen synthesis was found to decline after birth, so that the amount of pro alpha 1(I) collagen mRNA in the skin of 5- to 58-y-old donors was 17-37% of that in fetal skin. Slot-blot hybridization also indicated that the amount of pro alpha 1(I) collagen mRNA was much lower in adult skin than in fetal skin. In samples from lesional skin of two granuloma annulare patients, the number of pro alpha 1(I) mRNA molecules was increased 4- or 5-fold compared with values from nonlesional skin of the same patients. The method presented is a highly sensitive polymerase chain reaction application, requiring only very small amounts of total RNA.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Circadian and ultradian (12 h) variations of skin blood flow and barrier function in non-irritated and irritated skin-effect of topical corticosteroids.

The skin is the organ that receives the greatest exposure to light and shows a high-amplitude circadian rhythm in epidermal cell proliferation. We have previously demonstrated that the skin barrier function has a significant circadian rhythm. Corticosteroids (CS) are the most commonly used topical treatment in dermatology. Time-dependent differences in their efficacy and side-effects would be of considerable interest. The aims of the current study were to examine time-dependent cycles in the effect of topical CS application in healthy and irritated skin on skin blood flow and its relationship to barrier function. Twenty clinically healthy, diurnally active subjects were examined at eight and nine time points over a 24 or 28 h span respectively, using non-invasive skin bioengineering techniques of laser Doppler imaging, a transepidermal water loss (TEWL) device and a skin thermometer in a 28 h session. The results of this current study demonstrate circadian and ultradian (12 h) variations in skin blood flow. A significant correlation was found between skin temperature and skin blood flow but not with TEWL. Circadian and ultradian rhythms are maintained during treatment with high-potency and mid-potency CS in healthy skin. These rhythms persist during stratum corneum disruption with and without CS application.

Administration, Topical↗
PubMed2006

A randomized, controlled, double-blind study of the effect of wearing coated pH 5.5 latex gloves compared with standard powder-free latex gloves on skin pH, transepidermal water loss and skin irritation.

Hand dermatitis is a common occupational disease. Altered skin pH plays an important role in the development of skin irritation. A glove that maintains tight control over skin pH may reduce hand dermatitis in glove users. The purpose of the study was to characterize the effect of glove wearing on skin pH, investigate the impact of study glove on skin pH compared with standard gloves and determine whether wearing study gloves reduced irritation. 20 healthy volunteers enrolled in a 4-week double-blind comparison of study and control gloves and served as their own controls. Gloves were worn 8 hr per day for 5 days per week. Skin pH and transepidermal water loss were measured during and 2 days after the glove-wearing period. The subject and an observer assessed the skin for irritation. The study glove maintained lower skin pH than the control glove (P < 0.05) and trended towards having less irritation. Observers noted increases in dryness and scale in both hands after 4 weeks but significantly less dryness in the study hand at week 4 (P = 0.006). Glove wearing increased skin pH and dryness. The pH 5.5 glove maintained lower skin pH levels than the control glove and may reduce irritation in long-term glove wearers.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Glove powder affects skin roughness, one parameter of skin irritation.

Most patients with immediate-type-hypersensitivity to natural rubber latex (NRL) give a history of hand eczema. Susceptibility to allergens is increased by irritant hand eczema due to damage to the skin barrier. Therefore, especially for employees in medical or paramedical professions, reduction in skin irritation is of importance. The present study reports the effect of glove powder on skin roughness, one feature of skin irritancy. Skin replicas, performed before and after wearing different types of gloves, were evaluated by laser profilometry. Significant alteration of skin roughness was evident and determined by different factors. Use of unpowdered Biogel gloves on prepowdered hands results in an increase in skin roughness, in contrast to the use of Biogel gloves on hands without any pre-application. On the other hand, powdered Manex neoderm gloves show no influence on the skin structure, whereas powdered Peha taft gloves also increase the roughness of the skin. Other potential candidates causing skin morphology alteration could be the glove pH, rubber chemicals with irritant potential and other characteristics of gloves, which are already under investigation.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Clinically normal atopic skin vs. non-atopic skin as seen through electrical impedance.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: In an earlier study, we have shown that the electrical impedance (IMP) is dependent on the lipid content of the stratum corneum as studied by lipid extraction. Therefore, we now employ the IMP technique to compare the properties of clinically normal atopic skin with that of non-atopic skin. We looked at the same time at concomitant alterations in transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and skin moisture results. METHODS: Twenty-two healthy participants and 26 patients with atopic dermatitis were recruited. One test site on each volar forearm was used in the test procedure, of cyclohexane swabbing, skin stripping, and lipid extraction using a mixture of hexane:isopropanol. Responses were evaluated by measuring TEWL, skin moisture using electrical capacitance, and finally IMP spectroscopy in the frequency range 1 kHz to 1 MHz before the start of the study, after each step of the test procedure, and also during a 2 weeks recovery period. RESULTS: Only the IMP results showed significant changes between baseline values of clinically normal atopic skin and healthy skin. Furthermore, IMP and TEWL showed significantly larger reactivity for the atopic group after the skin stripping procedure, and IMP after lipid extraction as well. CONCLUSION: Our results show that IMP is a useful method for detection of changes in the lipid content of the stratum corneum by discriminating healthy looking atopic skin from healthy control skin, and to detect changes in reactivity between the two groups.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Oxygenation, heart rate and temperature in very low birthweight infants during skin-to-skin contact with their mothers.

Fourteen very low birthweight infants were studied positioned either prone horizontal or skin-to-skin at 60 degree tilt between the mother's breasts. Heart rate, skin temperature and oxygenation by transcutaneous PO2 and pulse oximetry were measured. Nine of the infants had normal lungs when studied. These infants showed no change in tcPO2 or oxygen saturation but heart rate increased significantly by a mean of 6.5 beats per min during skin-to-skin contact. Five infants with chronic lung disease, including two on nasal catheter oxygen, showed a significant 1.0 kPa rise in tcPO2 during skin-to-skin contact. Back skin temperature was well maintained during skin-to-skin contact with the room temperature at 26 to 29 degrees C. None of the infants had a significant apnoea or bradycardia during the study. Stable very low birthweight infants can enjoy such close contact with their mothers and the tilted position may improve pulmonary function in some cases.

Blood Gas Monitoring, Transcutaneous↗
PubMed1991

In-vitro skin pharmacokinetics of acitretin: percutaneous absorption studies in intact and modified skin from three different species using different receptor solutions.

The aromatic synthetic retinoid acid derivative, acitretin, is efficacious in several cutaneous diseases. Its toxicological profile makes a topical form with no or reduced systemic adverse effects desirable. Direct application of a topical acitretin formulation might result in therapeutic skin concentrations at the site of the disease while minimizing systemic exposure. The present studies define the percutaneous absorption characteristics of acitretin from an isopropylmyristate formulation. We investigated, in-vitro, (1) the role of receptor solution variations, (2) the role of skin modifications, (3) the influence of skin from three different species on the absorption of topically applied acitretin and (4) the drug distribution within the skin. Addition of solubilizers (Polyethylenglycol-20 and albumin) to the receptor solutions improved the flux of acitretin through monkey skin, whereas the acitretin concentration in the skin was not affected by the various receptor solutions used. Acitretin flux through tape-stripped monkey skin and dermis was only slightly higher than through intact skin. Acitretin concentration in human skin was significantly higher than in rhesus monkey or guinea-pig skin. Topical application of acitretin can produce dermal concentrations in excess of those achieved by therapeutic oral doses.

Acitretin↗
PubMed1988

Skin to skin contact for very low birthweight infants and their mothers.

Separation between mothers and very low birthweight infants is often prolonged with subsequent psychological distress, behaviour problems, and lactation failure. Babies as small as 700 g, who no longer require oxygen, can be safely and enjoyably held naked, except for a nappy, between the mother's breasts for up to four hours a day. We have carried out a randomised trial among babies less than 1500 g. Seventy one infants were randomised. In 35, the mother was helped to hold her baby in skin to skin contact and encouraged to do so whenever she visited the baby. In 36, the mother was encouraged to handle her baby but without skin to skin contact. Mothers using skin to skin contact lactated for four weeks longer on average than the control group. At 6 months of age the infants who had skin to skin contact cried significantly less than the control group. Skin to skin contact can safely and enjoyably be offered to very low birthweight infants especially in developing countries where the mother's lactation is vital.

Child Behavior↗
PubMed2004

Local action of exogenous nitric oxide (NO) on the skin blood flow of rock pigeons (Columba livia) is affected by acclimation and skin site.

We studied the blood flow over dorsal and abdominal, non-brooding patch skin of two groups of pigeons: one group was thermally acclimated to cold (winter-acclimatized, WAC) while the other group was acclimated to a mesic environment (thermally non-challenged, NOC). Two bilateral patches at the measurement sites were treated simultaneously with a gel containing sodium nitrate and ascorbic acid, to generate nitric oxide (NO), and a vehicle gel. Blood flow was measured by laser Doppler velocimetry. Changes induced by these treatments were calculated against basic blood flow values for the corresponding patch. The results showed that the basic blood flow over the abdominal skin patches at room temperature was higher than over the dorsal skin in both acclimation states, but comparison revealed a sustainably higher level of basic skin blood flow in the WAC pigeons. The local response to exogenous NO was non-uniform over the two skin areas measured, and a specific vasodilatory action on the abdominal microvessels was recorded in the NOC pigeons. Abdominal vasodilatation in the WAC pigeons seemed to involve other mechanisms as well as local NO-dependent ones, among which the role of cold-induced vasodilatation (CIVD) is discussed here. Interestingly, the dorsal skin seemed to be less responsive to the action of NO, irrespective of the acclimation state. Our results show that acclimation state and skin site affect the action of exogenous NO on local skin blood flow, and we suggest that the differences reflect acclimation-induced changes in the vascularity of the skin and in its sensitivity to thermal stimuli and that the roles of the abdominal and dorsal skin are different with respect to environmental changes.

Acclimatization↗
PubMed2006

B-lymphocyte depletion reduces skin fibrosis and autoimmunity in the tight-skin mouse model for systemic sclerosis.

Systemic sclerosis (scleroderma) is an autoimmune disease characterized by excessive extracellular matrix deposition in the skin. A direct role for B lymphocytes in disease development or progression has remained controversial, although autoantibody production is a feature of this disease. To address this issue, skin sclerosis and autoimmunity were assessed in tight-skin mice, a genetic model of human systemic sclerosis, after circulating and tissue B-cell depletion using an anti-mouse CD20 monoclonal antibody before (day 3 after birth) and after disease development (day 56). CD20 monoclonal antibody treatment (10 to 20 microg) depleted the majority (85 to 99%) of circulating and tissue B cells in newborn and adult tight-skin mice by days 56 and 112, respectively. B-cell depletion in newborn tight-skin mice significantly suppressed (approximately 43%) the development of skin fibrosis, autoantibody production, and hypergammaglobulinemia. B-cell depletion also restored a more normal balance between Th1 and Th2 cytokine mRNA expression in the skin. By contrast, B-cell depletion did not affect skin fibrosis, hypergammaglobulinemia, and autoantibody levels in adult mice with established disease. Thereby, B-cell depletion during disease onset suppressed skin fibrosis, indicating that B cells contribute to the initiation of systemic sclerosis pathogenesis in tight-skin mice but are not required for disease maintenance.

Aging↗
PubMed2000

Comparison of skin permeability of drugs in mice and human cadaver skin.

In vitro percutaneous absorption of four antihypertensive drugs were carried out across the mice and human cavader skin in order to compare their skin permeability. An interesting trend was noticed in these experiments. Poorly water soluble drug prazosin hydrochloride showed 13 times enhanced flux in the mice skin whereas the steady-state flux of the water soluble drug propranolol hydrochloride was almost same in both human cadaver and mice skin. The permeation rate of prazosin hydrochloride and propranolol hydrochloride through the human cadaver skin fluctuated widely over time, but in mice skin, distinct trends were noticed. The study indicates that the overall permeation rate in mice skin is higher than that in the cadaver skin and the meeting of the target-flux in mice skin does not guarantee its good permeability in human skin.

Administration, Cutaneous↗
PubMed2001

[Effect of subcutaneous tissue trimming on the survival skin area of avulsion skin flap].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of subcutaneous tissue trimming on the survival skin area of avulsion skin flap. METHODS: Degloving injury was created in bilateral hind limbs of 7 pigs with avulsion injury machine, 4 cm x 10 cm avulsion skin flaps were elevated in degloving areas. Skin flaps in one side were replanted as control without any treatment. Subcutaneous tissue in the skin flaps of another side was partially excised and replanted by trimmed skin flaps. Survival skin flaps was calculated with computer at 7 days after operation. RESULTS: In the control group, the survival skin area was (40.41 +/- 9.23)%, while in the experimental group, the survival skin area was (60.90 +/- 15.26)%. There was significant difference between the two groups (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Trimming off subcutaneous tissue does improve the survival area of avulsion skin flap.

Anastomosis, Surgical↗