RESUMO
Background: Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a unique molecule of the extracellular matrix with multiple biological activities. In skin, HA plays an essential role as a humectant, capable of binding up to 1,000 times its mass with water, providing skin with moisture and viscoelastic properties. HA concentration and synthesis decrease significantly in aging skin, due to exogenous and endogenous factors, including photoaging and HA metabolism. A key driver for HA degradation and reduced concentration is mediated via induction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and other free radicals. Objective: In this study, we evaluate antioxidant ingredients essential in the development of next-generation HA-based topical formulations aimed at leveraging HA's ability to maximize anti-aging properties. Methods: Two antioxidants, glycine saponin (Glycine soja germ extract) and glycyrrhetinic acid (enoxolone), were evaluated for stimulation of endogenous HA production and inhibition of endogenous hyaluronidase activity, respectively. Results: The antioxidant glycine saponin induced endogenous HA synthesis in fibroblasts, while the antioxidant glycyrrhetinic acid decreased the degradation rate of HA by 54 percent. Conclusion: While HA has been included in numerous topical skin products, critical aspects of HA metabolism, especially in aging skin, have often been overlooked, including decreases in HA synthesis with increasing age, and increases in HA degradation mediated by exogenously induced reactive oxygen species and free radicals and increased enzymatic degradation by endogenous hyaluronidases. Here, we describe a unique approach to inclusion of two antioxidants essential for the development of the next generation of antioxidant complex-based topical skin formulations to limit the signs of aging skin.
RESUMO
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated measures to contain the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus required a change in treatment format from face-to-face to remote psychotherapy. This study investigated the changes experienced by Austrian therapists when switching to psychotherapy at a distance. A total of 217 therapists participated in an online survey on changes experienced when switching settings. The survey was open from 26 June until 3 September 2020. Several open questions were evaluated using qualitative content analysis. The results show that the setting at a distance was appreciated by the therapists as a possibility to continue therapy even during an exceptional situation. Moreover, remote therapy offered the respondents more flexibility in terms of space and time. Nevertheless, the therapists also reported challenges of remote therapy, such as limited sensory perceptions, technical problems and signs of fatigue. They also described differences in terms of the therapeutic interventions used. There was a great deal of ambivalence in the data regarding the intensity of sessions and the establishment and/or maintenance of a psychotherapeutic relationship. Overall, the study shows that remote psychotherapy seems to have been well accepted by Austrian psychotherapists in many settings and can offer benefits. Clinical studies are also necessary to investigate in which contexts and for which patient groups the remote setting is suitable and where it is potentially contraindicated.
