seborrhoeic dermatitis in the elderly inferences on the possible role of disability and loss of self sufficiency

The constant increase of life expectancy in countries with high standards of living raises growing concern about many aspects of skin morbidity in the elderly. As regards seborrhoeic dermatitis, literature yields prevalence estimates for elderly people that are consistently higher than those reported from the general population. This prompts speculations on whether factors inherently involved in senescence might have some role in the course of seborrhoeic dermatitis. In a series of 186 subjects, aged §65, strength of association of the skin disorder with age, sex, coexisting non-cutaneous conditions, and degree of loss of self-sufficiency in activities of daily living (ADL index) was evaluated by univariate and multivariate analysis. We found that age (OR: 1.14; pv0.001) and, more importantly, dependency in more than one ADL (OR: 30.2; pv0.0001) were independent explanatory variables of seborrhoeic dermatitis. These findings suggest that senescence per se might have some significance in the natural history of this type of eczema. Key words: seborrhoeic dermatitis; old age; senescence; disability; ADL index; odds ratio

Sourdough “Biga” fermentation improves the digestibility of pizza Pinsa romana. An Investigation through a simulated static in vitro model

Baked goods manufacturing parameters and fermentation conditions interfere with the nutrients content and affect their gastrointestinal fate. Pinsa Romana is a type of pizza that, recently, has been commercially rediscovered and that needed elucidation from a nutritional and digestibility perspective. In this study, six types of Pinsa Romana (five made with indirect method and one produced with straight dough technology) were characterized for their biochemical and nutritional features. Several variables like indirect (biga) Pinsa Romana production process, fermentation time and use of sourdough were investigated. The Pinsa Romana made with biga including sourdough and fermented for 48 h at 16 °C ((PR_48(SD)) resulted in the lowest predicted glycemic index, in the highest content of total peptides, total and individual free amino acids and gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA), and in the best protein quality indexes (protein efficiency ratio and nutritional index). The static in vitro digestion showed that the digesta from PR_48(SD) confirmed a reduced in vitro glycemic response after intake, and it showed a lower bioavailability of hydrophilic peptides. Furthermore, the inclusion of sourdough in biga enhanced the bioavailability of protein-related end-products including human health promoting compounds such as essential amino acids

Cardiovascular Reactivity to experimental stress in Psoriasis: a controlled Investigation

A defective response of psoriatic skin to β-adrenergic stimulation has been implicated in the pathophysiology of psoriasis. A psychophysiological study was planned to investigate whether the β-adrenergic receptor hyporesponsiveness found in psoriatic skin can also be detected in other systems. Twenty-five psoriatic patients and 50 healthy controls were submitted to a standardized stressful procedure (mental arithmetic and the Stroop Colour-Word Naming Test) to trigger the activation of the sympathetic nervous system, and their haemodynamic responses were compared. While there were no differences between groups in perceived stress, a blunted increase in heart rate and a sharper increase in diastolic blood pressure was observed in psoriasis patients compared with controls. The psychophysiological reaction pattern observed in psoriatic patients might be explained by lower reactivity of heart β1-adrenergic receptors and arteriolar walls β2-adrenergic receptors. While this study suggests that β-adrenergic receptor hyporesponsiveness might have a systemic expression in psoriatic patients, it needs support from future studies exploring β-adrenergic function in psoriatic patients more directly. Key words: psoriasis; stress; heart rate; blood pressure; sympathetic nervous system; beta-adrenergic receptor

Tobacco-induced contact dermatitis

Tobacco and tobacco smoke are strongly associated with various skin conditions, among which contact dermatitis is of prime importance. The aetiological and clinical aspects vary according to the different tobacco production and processing steps. Contact dermatitis is frequent in tobacco harvesters, curers and cigar makers, whereas it rarely affects smokers and, only exceptionally, cigarette packaging workers. The skin sites involved also vary, according to whether the exposure is occupational or non-occupational. Tobacco contact irritation is far more frequent than contact allergy. The sensitizing compound in tobacco is unknown; nicotine, while highly toxic, does not seem to cause sensitization, except in rare cases. Besides natural substances, several compounds are added to tobacco during processing and manufacturing. For this reason, identifying the aetiological factors is exceedingly difficult. Another important aspect to take into account is the co-causative role of tobacco in eliciting or exacerbating contact dermatitis in response to other agents, occupational or extra-occupational

Alterations of Mitochondrial Respiration and Complex I Activity in Mononucleate Cells from Psoriatic Patients: Possible Involvement of GRIM-19-STAT3α/β

Objective: Although the pathogenesis of psoriasis is largely unknown accumulating evidences configure it as an immune-mediated disease determined through cytokines-mediated positive loops between activated lymphocytes subsets and keratinocytes. Mitochondria in addition to their role in the cell bioenergetics are now recognized as a decisional hub in controlling the immunological response. In the present study we compared mitochondria-related functions of PBMC between psoriatic patients and healthy controls. Methods: Freshly isolated PBMC from eleven psoriatic patients and nine healthy controls were subjected to mitochondria-dependent respiratory activity measurements by high-resolution oxymetry and the specific activity of respiratory chain complexes assessed by spectrophotometric assays. Quantitative RT-PCR and immunoblotting were applied to detect the level of selected transcripts and proteins respectively. Results: Respirometric analysis unveiled in patients’ cells a significant three-fold increase of oligomycin- sensitive endogenous mitochondria-driven oxygen consumption, which was traceable back to a specific increased activity of the respiratory chain complex I. Analysis by quantitative RT-PCR of transcription factors regulating the mitochondrial biogenesis did not result in significant changes between patients and control cells and was confirmed by the unaffected expression of the complex I subunits. Treatment of either patients’ or control cells with isoproterenol and IBMX ruled out the involvement of a cAMP-PKA-mediated post-transcriptional modification of the respiratory complex. GRIM19 a pleiotropic protein, involved in the structural and functional stabilization of complex I and in the mitochondrial translocation of STAT3 was significantly up-regulated in patients’ cells. Phosphorylation at S727 of STAT3 was increased in patients’cells, which, in addition, unveiled a shift in the relative expression of the STAT3α/β splisoforms. Conclusion: Altogether the results obtained suggest the occurrence in circulating mononucleate cells from psoriatic patients of an altered activity of complex I likely mediated by up-regulation of GRIM19/STAT3β, which might lead to a chronic activation of T-lymphocytes thereby contributing to the development of psoriasis

The management of the outbreak of acral skin manifestations in asymptomatic children during COVID-19 era

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Acne and cosmetics: A cross-sectional, web-based questionnaire survey of the views and opinions of Italian dermatologists on the use of camouflage cosmetics in female patients

BACKGROUND: Unsatisfactory response rates are not rarely observed in the management of acne and seem largely related to poor adherence to treatment. As more specifically regards management of the disease in female patients, available literature provides contradictory indications regarding permissibility of using cosmetics. In this study we aimed to narrow our investigation on the habits of non-academic dermatologists specifically with regards to allowing/not-allowing their female patients to use camouflage cosmetics. METHODS: A Web-based survey was carried out by sending an e-mail containing a brief, aim-oriented questionnaire to a random, nationwide sample of 1508 Italian colleagues. Basic demographic data (sex, age and seniority of specialization), and tick box and open responses to the questionnaire underwent statistical analyses, as appropriate. RESULTS: The response rate was 32.9% (N.=334), this meaning 7.6% of the entire (N.=4390) Italy-based dermatologist population. The outcome between pros-and-cons standpoints was substantially split in half, in that less more than half of interviewees felt "very" or "rather" important to prohibit the use of camouflage cosmetics to their patients and only allowed the use of make-up sporadically, i.e. on "special" occasions. CONCLUSIONS: Camouflage cosmetics in acne patients should not be a sort of taboo for each dermatologist needing to deal with it individually in his/her day-by-day clinical practice. On the other hand, what appears to be still missing is future third-party research on the actual feasibility of cosmetics, and of camouflage products in particular. Large scale, possibly split-face controlled evaluations would be in this view a gold standard to confide in