The Role of Er-yag Glass Laser in Skin Resurfacing.

Following our survey, we can appreciate that a variety of laser platforms exist to rejuvenate the skin by resurfacing the outer layer of the skin as well as heating the lower layers of the dermis. Based on reliable clinical effectiveness and a limited side effect profile, we can confirm that nonablative fractionated technologies greatly improve the appearance of lentigines, rhytids; eliminate sun damage, attenuate scarring due to acne and other causes; and treat hyperpigmentation. The Fraxel (Solta Medical) laser system delivers pulses across a wide range of density and energy levels. We determined that when increasing the pulse energy this led to an increase in thermolysis microzone depth and width without damaging the surrounding tissue. Due to its performance and various clinical applications, Fraxel laser can be optimally considered to be the gold standard for skin rejuvenation.

The potential impact of dietary choices on melanoma risk: an anti-inflammatory diet.

The role of inflammation in the aetiology of cancer is recognized. However, no study yet examined the association between an anti-inflammatory diet and cutaneous melanoma and explored whether it could be modified by genetic variations in cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), a key enzyme in inflammation. A case-control study was conducted in the IDI-IRCCS hospital in Rome, Italy with 273 cases of primary cutaneous melanoma and 269 controls frequency matched to cases. Information on socio-demographic and pigmentary characteristics, medical history, sun exposure and dietary habits were collected for all subjects. The - 765G > C polymorphism was identified in DNA extracted from blood samples. An anti-inflammatory diet score was created. Logistic regression models were fitted to obtain odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). A high anti-inflammatory diet score (≥ 8 anti-inflammatory dietary items) was associated with a decreased risk of cutaneous melanoma (OR: 0.29; 95%CI: 0.17-0.49, Ptrend < 0.0001) after adjusting for sex, age, education, number of common nevi, skin photo-type, solar lentigines and sunburns in childhood. COX-2 -765 G > C polymorphism was not an independent risk factor for cutaneous melanoma. Although interaction between - 765G > C genotypes and anti-inflammatory diet score was not statistically significant (p = 0.25), when stratified by -765 G > C genotypes the effect of the anti-inflammatory diet was slightly more pronounced for participants carrying - 765GG (OR: 0.17; 95%CI: 0.06-0.47, Ptrend < 0.001). Our study findings suggest that adherence to an anti-inflammatory diet is associated with a decreased risk of developing cutaneous melanoma. These results suggest the potential impact of dietary choices on melanoma risk.

The association between residential pesticide use and cutaneous melanoma.

Occupational pesticide exposure has been linked to cutaneous melanoma in epidemiological studies. We studied the association between cutaneous melanoma and the residential use of pesticides. This is a case-control study of cutaneous melanoma (287 incident cases; 299 controls). Data on pesticide use was obtained with a standardised interview. An increased risk of melanoma was found for high use (4 times annually) of indoor pesticides (odds ratio (OR)=2.18; 95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.07-4.43) compared to low use (1 times annually), after adjustment for sex, age, education, sun exposure and pigmentary characteristics. Subjects exposed for 10 years or more had two and a half times the risk (OR=2.46; 95% CI 1.23-4.94) of those exposed for less than 10 years. A dose response was observed for the intensity of pesticides use (p(trend)=0.027). The results indicate that residential pesticide exposure may be an independent risk factor for cutaneous melanoma.

Identifying individuals at high risk of melanoma: a simple tool.

Simple and reliable tools for identifying patients at high risk for melanoma with preventive measures have important public health implications. An individual risk score for cutaneous melanoma was constructed and externally validated. With the summary coefficients of the risk factors for cutaneous melanoma, derived from a meta-analysis, a melanoma risk score was tested in an Italian population and externally validated in a Brazilian population. Common nevi, skin and hair color, freckles, and sunburns in childhood were the variables included in the final predictive model. The discriminatory ability of the models was assessed by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. The performance of the model was also evaluated by conducting an external validation. The area under the curve (AUC) of the candidate model was 0.79 (95% confidence interval: 0.75-0.82). The same model, when applied in the Brazilian population, presented an AUC of 0.79 (95% confidence interval: 0.70-0.86). At the cut-off level of 3 and more, 89 and 80% of the melanoma cases were correctly classified as 'at risk for melanoma' in the Italian and in the Brazilian populations, respectively. The risk model is a simple tool that identifies patients for preventive measures and may be used with reasonable confidence in different populations. The risk model may help family doctors in referring patients to dermatological clinics and thus improve early diagnosis.