A drug initially developed to protect skin from light and UV will soon be tested as a repigmentation therapy in vitiligo, a common disorder which causes skin to gradually lose its pigment or tone. SCENESSE(R), a new drug developed in Australia, will be evaluated for its ability to reactivate melanin in the whitened, depigmented skin patches caused by vitiligo. If approved by US and EU regulators, Melbourne-based Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Ltd will commence trials in October…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers about the risk of ultraviolet radiation overdose with the Tootsie Tanner portable foot tanning device. Use of the tanning device can lead to an overdose of ultraviolet radiation because its labeling recommends an improper duration of exposure to radiation and the device has an inadequate timer. The labeled exposure schedule indicates that the device may be used for 30 minutes, and the timer control permits 30 minutes exposure. Based on FDA testing, the maximum exposure time for this device is 20 minutes…

JAFRA(R) Cosmetics International, Inc. (JAFRA), a leader in the direct sales industry, announced that its Men Dynamics skin care collection has received the prestigious Seal of Recommendation from The Skin Cancer Foundation, an independent institute that sets the industry standard for products that are safe and effective in providing sun protection. With the addition of the Men Dynamics skin care line, JAFRA now has 100 cosmetic and skin care products that have been approved by The Skin Cancer Foundation to use its Seal of Recommendation…

Twenty-five years after publishing the mnemonic “ABCD” to facilitate the early diagnosis of melanoma, the group who came up with that moniker says early detection remains a key factor in lowering mortality from malignant melanoma. Darrell S. Rigel, M.D. and colleagues from the Ronald O. Perelman Department of Dermatology at New York University School of Medicine say that, despite all of the advances in melanoma diagnosis, timely recognition, detection, and rapid treatment of melanoma remain critical…

According to Smart Nutra Inc., there were 6-12 million outbreaks of head lice reported in the United States this year. Large outbreaks of louse infestations have also been reported from all over the world including Israel, Denmark, Sweden, U.K., France and Australia. The number of cases of human louse infestations (or pediculosis) worldwide is in the hundreds of millions. Studies show that girls are up to 4 times more frequently infested than boys. Children between 4 and 13 years of age are the most frequently infested group. Researchers have warned for years that head lice in the U.S…

Researchers have long known that humans lack a key enzyme — one possessed by most of the animal kingdom and even plants — that reverses severe sun damage. For the first time, researchers have witnessed how this enzyme works at the atomic level to repair sun-damaged DNA. The discovery holds promise for future sunburn remedies and skin cancer prevention…

Following a review of topical formulations of ketoprofen, the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has concluded that the benefit-risk balance of these medicines continues to be positive. However, the Committee recommended that doctors should inform patients on how to use these medicines appropriately to prevent the occurrence of serious skin photosensitivity reactions. Ketoprofen is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)…

Among persons with psoriasis, those who reported being obese at age 18 had an increased risk of developing psoriatic arthritis, according to a report in the July 19 issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

As a sign of aging or in a suit, wrinkles are almost never welcome, but two papers in the current issue of Physical Review Letters offer some perspective on what determines their size and shape in soft materials. Jiangshui Huang and colleagues at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst explore how wrinkles in a sheet adapt to an edge that prefers to be flat. They float a thin, rectangular film of common plastic (polystyrene) on water and compress the sheet along one direction to make folds…

Fibrocell Science, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: FCSC), a biotechnology company focused on the development of autologous cell therapies for aesthetic, medical and scientific applications, announced the completion of enrollment of and first treatment visits for participants in its histology study (IT-H-001) of azficel-T. An autologous cell therapy, azficel-T is currently under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of moderate to severe nasolabial fold wrinkles…