A pilot study on aesthetic treatments performed by qualified aesthetic practitioners: efficacy on health-related quality of life in breast cancer patients

Purpose: Cancer treatments often produce undesirable side-effects, such as skin toxicity, impacting on everyday functioning and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). This experimental study sought to determine whether aesthetic products and treatments could significantly decrease perceived skin symptoms, psychological distress and improve skin-related QoL (SRQoL). Methods: An experimental group composed of 100 breast patients was enrolled for specialized aesthetic treatments at the European Institute of Oncology (IEO) and compared to a control group of 70 breast patients who did not receive any aesthetic treatment. A measure of SRQoL (i.e., Skindex-16) and a distress thermometer were administered longitudinally at three time points: at baseline (T0), at 7 days from beginning of aesthetic treatment (T1) and at 28 days from beginning of aesthetic treatment (T2). Results: Results demonstrated the efficacy of aesthetic treatment in reducing distress and improving SRQoL: while the experimental group showed significant improvements in all HRQoL areas, the control group worsened. Specifically, at T1 and T2 there were significant improvements on distress and Skindex subscales in the experimental group, with an almost complete remission of perceived symptoms at T2. Moreover, all reported cutaneous reactions significantly improved after the specialized treatments, with no differences in SRQoL in skin reaction type. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that aesthetic treatments for side-effects of cancer therapies can alleviate perceived distress and improve skin symptoms and HRQoL

The psoriatic shift induced by interleukin 17 is promptly reverted by a specific anti-IL-17A agent in a three-dimensional organotypic model of normal human skin culture

Interleukin 17A (IL-17A), mainly produced by the T helper subclass Th17, plays a key role in the psoriatic plaque formation and progression. The clinical effectiveness of anti-IL-17A agents is documented, but the early and specific mechanisms of their protection are not identified yet. The challenge of the present study is to investigate the possible reversal exerted by a specific anti-IL-17A agent on the psoriatic events induced by IL-17A in a three-dimensional organotypic model of normal human skin. Bioptic skin fragments obtained after aesthetic surgery of healthy women (n=5) were incubated with i) IL-17A biological inhibitor (anti-IL-17A), ii) IL-17A, iii) a combination of IL-17A and its specific IL-17A biological inhibitor (COMBO). A Control group was in parallel cultured and incubation lasted for 24 and 48 h epidermal-side-up at the air-liquid interface. All subjects were represented in all experimental groups at all considered time-points. Keratinocyte proliferation and the presence of epidermal Langerhans cells were quantitatively estimated. In parallel with transmission electron microscopy analysis, immunofluorescence studies for the epidermal distribution of keratin (K)10, K14, K16, K17, filaggrin/occludin, Toll-like Receptor 4, and Nuclear Factor kB were performed. IL-17A inhibited cell proliferation and induced K17 expression, while samples incubated with the anti-IL-17A agent were comparable to controls. In the COMBO group the IL-17A-induced effects were almost completely reverted. Our study, for the first time, elucidates the most specific psoriatic cellular events that can be partially affected or completely reverted by a specific anti-IL-17A agent during the early phases of the plaque onset and progression. On the whole, this work contributes to expand the knowledge of the psoriatic tableau

A pilot study on aesthetic treatments performed by qualified aesthetic practitioners: efficacy on health-related quality of life in breast cancer patients

Purpose Cancer treatments often produce undesirable side-effects, such as skin toxicity, impacting on everyday functioning and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). This experimental study sought to determine whether aesthetic products and treatments could significantly decrease perceived skin symptoms, psychological distress and improve skin-related QoL (SRQoL). Methods An experimental group composed of 100 breast patients was enrolled for specialized aesthetic treatments at the European Institute of Oncology (IEO) and compared to a control group of 70 breast patients who did not receive any aesthetic treatment. A measure of SRQoL (i.e., Skindex-16) and a distress thermometer were administered longitudinally at three time points: at baseline (T0), at 7 days from beginning of aesthetic treatment (T1) and at 28 days from beginning of aesthetic treatment (T2). Results Results demonstrated the efficacy of aesthetic treatment in reducing distress and improving SRQoL: while the experimental group showed significant improvements in all HRQoL areas, the control group worsened. Specifically, at T1 and T2 there were significant improvements on distress and Skindex subscales in the experimental group, with an almost complete remission of perceived symptoms at T2. Moreover, all reported cutaneous reactions significantly improved after the specialized treatments, with no differences in SRQoL in skin reaction type. Conclusions These findings demonstrate that aesthetic treatments for side-effects of cancer therapies can alleviate perceived distress and improve skin symptoms and HRQoL

Ultrastructural features in organotypic cultures of normal human skin in an in vitro microenvironment mimicking atopic dermatitis

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common inflammatory skin disease charactided by chronic, systemic inflammation, early age of onset, persistent itch, marked redness, cracking, and dryness of the skin. Skin infections occur frequently in AD, contribute to the disordered immune activity and are probably related to disruption of skin barrier by inhibiting lipids, tight junctions, and antimicrobial peptide formation. Among the several cytokines involved in the AD pathogenesis interleukin (IL) -4, IL- 1 3 and IL22 play a key role. The present study is focused on the early effects of pro-inflammatory cytokines on ultrastructural changes using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) in a well standardized 3D model of normal human skin organotypic culture. Skin explants obtained from plastic surgery of healthy 20-40 yearold women (n = 5) after informed consent were cultured ovemight in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium and treated with 50 nglml IL-4, 50 nglml IL-13 and 100 nglml IL-22 alone or in combination (TRIS). Samples were then harvested 24 and 48 hours after the cytokine incubation. In all samples exposed to cytokines, desmosomes appeared well preserved, comparable to controls. TEM analysis revealed that, starting from24 hours of culture, the exposure toIL-4, but not to IL13, caused a marked enlargement of intercellular spaces and chromatin condensation. In TRIS treated samples, these alterations were less evident, however, we have observed condensation of cytoskeletal filaments. Altogether, this present study strongly suggest that this experimental approach useful for studying the early, direct, and specific effects of pro-inflammatory AD cytokines and may be useful for assessing new biological drugs directed against a specific cytokine

Effects of cytokines involved in a microenvironment mimicking atopic dermatitis in a well standardized three-dimensional model of normal human skin

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is one of the most common chronic skin inflammatory disorders, driven by several pro-inflammatory cytokines among which interleukin (IL)-4, IL-13, and IL-22 are the most involved mediators. Tight junctions (TJs) are targeted in AD from both a morphological and a molecular level, leading an epidermal barrier disruption, which is one of the clinical manifestations of AD. TJs seal adjacent keratinocytes in the granular layer and are composed by transmembrane proteins such as occludin and claudins, in addition to cytosolic scaffold proteins. The present study was aimed at evaluating the early effects of IL-4 and IL-13 using a well-standardized three-dimensional model of normal human skin. Skin explants were obtained from plastic surgery of healthy women (n=5) 20-40 years old after informed consent, and cultured overnight in Dulbecco\u2019s modified Eagle\u2019s medium and treated with 50 ng/mL IL-4, 50 ng/mL IL-13. Secondly, the samples were harvested 24 hours after the cytokine incubation and in parallel processed for morphological and molecular biology analysis through both Western Blot. Compared to control samples, a decrease of the expression of occludin was found in samples incubated with either IL-4 or IL-13. TEM analysis revealed an increase of the intercellular spaces and chromatine condensation only in samples treated with IL-4, with well preserved desmosomes. Conversely, samples incubated with IL-13 showed similar features as control ones. All these results suggest the usefulness of this experimental model, which could be used in order to study and evaluate the early and direct effects of several pro-inflammatory cytokines involved in AD, providing a well and standardize method for pre-clinic dermatology research

Inhibition of feline immunodeficiency virus infection in vitro by envelope glycoprotein synthetic peptides

Sixty-six 20- to 23-amino-acid synthetic peptides, partially overlapping by 10-12 amino acids, spanning the entire sequence of the envelope SU and TM glycoproteins of the Petaluma isolate of FIV, have been used to investigate the Env domains involved in viral infection. Peptides 5 to 7, spanning amino acids (225)E-P-264 located in a conserved region of the SU protein, and peptides 58 to 61, spanning amino acids N-757-P-806 and encompassing hypervariable region 8 of TM protein, exhibited a remarkable and specific antiviral effect against the homologous and one heterologous isolate, as judged by inhibition of FIV-induced syncytium formation and p25 production in CrFK cells. Peptides 5 and 7, but not peptides 58 and 59, also inhibited viral replication of a fresh FIV isolate on nontransformed lymphoid cells. By flow cytometry, peptides 5, 7, 58, and 59 were shown to bind the surface of FIV permissive cells. The antiviral activity of peptides 5 and 7, however, was time-dependent, as inhibition of FIV replication was seen when the peptides were administered before or within 3 hr after virus inoculation; in contrast, TM peptides 58 and 59 exerted a potent inhibitory effect when added up to 24 hr after virus inoculation. Circular dychroism analysis showed that peptide 5 folds to a helical conformation in the presence of a hydrophobic environment. Although the basis for the antiviral action of the peptides is not understood, our data suggest that the inhibitory peptides may act by interacting with cell-surface molecules involved in viral infection. (C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc