A US School of Public Health study published last week revealed that African Americans are largely ignoring sun safety messages, despite research showing that African Americans were more likely to die from melanoma, compared to fair skinned Americans.
The study, of 2187 African Americans living in California aged 18-95, revealed that only about 31% of those surveyed always engaged in sun-protective behavior, while 62.7% never wear sunscreen.
The body consists of cells which communicate with each other via signaling molecules to govern and determine a variety of physiological functions in the body. The action and effect of these signaling molecules is mediated by ‘receptors’ which are located on the surface of (plasma membrane), or inside a cell. A molecule that ‘binds’ with a receptor is known as a ligand and can be protein such as a hormone or drug and the role of the ligand is to activate, or inactivate a particular biological activity.
In some ways receptors can be likened to switches with on and off positions, and which in turn affect the cell’s internal functioning. The action or inaction of receptors is determined by the type of ligand with which they bind, i.e. receptors are activated when an agonising ligand, an ‘agonist’ binds and left inactive when an ‘antagonist’ in some way prevents the agonist from binding. The specific biological action is dependent upon which particular ligand binds with a receptor.
As global knowledge of how human skin interacts with light increases, there has been a greater focus on the biochemical processes that occur in the human body following exposure to light, in particular the creation of a necessary vitamin: vitamin D
The vitamin D debate is complex and contentious, especially whether intentionally increasing UV exposure delivers health benefits that outweigh the known increased risk of skin cancer, and likely melanoma associated with heightened UV exposure.
A new study to come out of the US National Institute of Health has linked the increasing rates of melanoma diagnosis in young women to an increased exposure to artificial UVA. In a review published in Pigment Cell & Melanoma Research this month, the authors draw on National Cancer Institute melanoma prevalence research to suggest a causative link between melanoma incidence in young women and the rates of UVA tanning device usage in the USA.
“The fear of what lay ahead” is our latest webcast exploring the impact of EPP upon individuals, their families and loved ones.
Wendy and Ralph are the proud parents of two daughters, who were both diagnosed with Erythropoietic Protoporphyria (EPP), although their first daughter suffered for almost three years before the correct diagnosis of EPP was arrived at.
In this short film they discuss the fear, confusion and distress they endured as a result of grappling with EPP’s severity, invisibility and often unknown and misunderstood nature, all the while unable to treat or protect their children.
Clinuvel would like to extend its thanks and appreciation to Ralph, Wendy, Angela and Lyndal for allowing us to share their story.
In our final post on sunscreen, we will discuss the proper advice and application of sunscreen to achieve optimal protection from UV radiation.
A recently published study found that, even with detailed guidance and individual instruction, trial participants still applied less than half the amount of sunscreen recommended. Participants who were instructed only by the product packaging used slightly more than a third of the required amount. This is an important gap in public knowledge, as SPF ratings are based on tests carried out with the recommended amounts of sunscreen.
As part of a new series of updates on technology, and to complement on Clinuvel’s public news flow, Clinuvel is initiating a regular bulletin to provide its followers worldwide with the latest advances on relevant issues, such as environmental factors, skin and related biochemical issues.
These discussions aim to increase the understanding of the science and technology behind Clinuvel. Where the depth of information becomes too profound an attempt shall be made to summarise in easier terms. Basic take-aways will provide clarification throughout each bulletin.
The first issue, available here, discusses in detail the physiological “UV tanning response” and touches on the development of afamelanotide in relation to an evolving understanding of both the peptide itself and the physiology of UV and sun damage to skin and DNA.
There are many factors to consider when selecting a sunscreen, and it’s important to have an understanding of what impact they each have on the effectiveness of UV protection they provide.
Broadly speaking, there are two different ways sunscreens protect against UV radiation; chemical protection and physical protection. Chemical sunscreens introduce materials into the skin that absorb UV radiation, while physical sunscreens (like zinc cream) create a physical layer of protection that reflects or blocks UV radiation.
The coming 12 months will prove significant for Clinuvel as we anticipate the flow of communication and news to increase. As part of our preparation for upcoming developments and to ensure we are well placed to face the challenges unique to reaching our clinical, regulatory and business objectives, we’ll be making some changes to our online communication channels.
In the coming weeks we will be updating elements of our online presences and this may result in some downtime for our various websites and inevitable bugs and consequent troubleshooting exercises.
If you have any input or ideas as to how we could improve the corporate or photoprotection websites, the Clinuvel blog or Twitter feed please feel free to leave a comment on this post. We’ll consider all suggestions and are looking forward to your input.
We apologise in advance for any inconvenience experienced during this time and hope you benefit from the updates and developments we are implementing.
Sun Protection Factors (SPF) are arrived at by testing in laboratory conditions. Volunteers have their skin exposed to artificial UV radiation until they experience burn and the amount of radiation they receive is measured. The volunteer then has the sunscreen applied to their skin, is again exposed to artificial UV radiation and the amount of radiation required to achieve the same damage is measured. The SPF rating is ascertained by dividing the amount of radiation required to burn with sunscreen, by the amount required to burn without.
.gif)
 |
© Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Ltd 2009 |
